Swiss driver’s dreaming of top 10

SWISS maestro Simona de Silvestro fired a shot across the bow of her supercar colleagues by announcing she aimed to start taking positions inside the top 10 as the championship heads to Tasmania next weekend.

The 29-year-old from Thun, Switzerland, said she was improving fast and says Symmons Plains could be the track where she makes her move.

De Silvestro was surprised by the tough Tassie track on her debut there last year.

She will come more prepared for the fight this time aboard her Harvey Norman Nissan Altima.

“The biggest thing for me is that I want to be running around in the top 10,” she said.

“It’s really difficult but that’s the goal for any racetrack we go to and if we get the car to where we want to, that’s really achievable.

“Heading to Symmons this time we have more notes and more data from last year so it makes you a little more at ease going there and knowing what to expect.”

The speed at Symmons Plains — 280km/h on the main straight — was also a surprise.

“The long straights are quite fast and the hairpin is a really big braking zone and there’s a lot of lap time you can gain or lose there,” she said. “It’s a tricky little place.” As the only women in the supercars championship, de Silvestro has been a hit with female fans. “That’s really cool,” she said.