Simona leading guard change
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO DIDN’T HAVE FEMALE ROLE MODELS AS A JUNIOR BUT SHE IS QUICKLY BECOMING ONE HERSELF. CONNOR O’BRIEN REPORTS
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IMONA De Silvestro grew up in a world without female motorsport icons. She is determined to ensure no future generation does the same.
The accomplished racer known as the “Iron Maiden” has set about proving women can reign in the traditionally male-dominated sport.
Aside from blotting her copybook with a late-race error that cost her a likely ninth-place Bathurst 1000 finish, De Silvestro has impressed many in her rookie season at Nissan Motorsport.
The first woman to race full-time in Supercars, she has been consistently competitive despite having never raced on most tracks – including the Surfers Paradise street circuit used for the Gold Coast 600 next weekend.
De Silvestro has also not put a foot wrong in the way she conducts herself, her bubbly, friendly nature making her a winner with fans.
The former IndyCar and Formula E driver has been blown away by the reception she has received Down Under.
“There are a lot of young girls from go-karting coming up to me and asking questions,” she told the Bulletin.
“To be a role model, to be in the highest series here in Australia and to show that it’s possible if you work hard for it, I think that’s cool.
“It is good to be leading the pack and hopefully there are more and more girls getting interested in racing and also in engineering or working in a race team.
“When I was younger there wasn’t really any woman up there to really look at so I think that is quite important.
“It is quite important for the parents as well because it maybe gives them a little bit of hope that they are not totally crazy, so I think that is definitely a positive message.” De Silvestro, 29, has not been afraid to speak her mind in conveying that message. High-profile Spanish driver Carmen Jorda this week claimed it’s unfair to pit women directly against men “because we will never be on the same level”. De Silvestro’s response was to the point: “I think some of us have proven differently”.
The Harvey Normanbacked driver says she has much to thank her parents Pierre and Emanuela for, having supported her pursuit of whatever dream she desired. Since starting karting at age six, she has time after time competed on otherwise allmale grids. Again, she is earning the ultimate praise – respect.
“The people around, I’m starting to get the respect because we are getting closer and that’s what is important,” she said. Nissan have struggled this season with all four of their cars but De Silvestro, currently 24th, is not giving up on a positive finish to the year.
That begins at the Gold Coast, an unforgiving track that has typically suited the Altimas, headlined by podiums in 2014 and 2015. De Silvestro called it a “tricky place” but has enjoyed street circuits during her career, such as Saint Petersburg in her IndyCar days.