Simona De Silvestro has not closed the door on a full-time return to Supercars as she prepares to make her comeback in the Shell V-Power Racing Team’s Bathurst 1000 wildcard.
This year’s Great Race, in which De Silvestro will share a Ford Mustang with rookie Kai Allen, will be her first Supercars start since wrapping up a three-year stint with Kelly Racing/Nissan Motorsport in 2019.
Since then, the Swiss pilot has been a factory Porsche driver, filling test/reserve duties for its Formula E programme, as well as making a handful of starts in IndyCar and partaking in two seasons of ADAC GT Masters.
For now, the Bathurst drive is a one-off, and Dick Johnson Racing already has Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale under contract for 2024, but De Silvestro was not ruling out a full-time return to Supercars when asked about the idea by Speedcafe.
“I think when people know my career, they know that I usually try to go where the best opportunity is,” she said.
“I’m the type of person who never says never, you know? I think if the opportunity is right to be in a competitive car, I think it’s always something to consider.
“At the moment, I’m also in a good position with Porsche and all that but, for sure, at the end of the day, I want to win races and I want to be competitive.
“So, whatever comes, never say never, I would say.”
Coincidentally, Porsche announced an extension of its Formula E programme in the hours prior to DJR confirming that it will field an extra Mustang at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
De Silvestro had already dovetailed Formula E commitments with Supercars but the news in September 2019 of her tie-up with Porsche was taken as a strong indication of the departure from Kelly Racing and Supercars which was confirmed in the following November.
She has finished no higher than 13th in five Bathurst 1000 starts to date, and no higher than 19th in the drivers’ championship.
However, both of personal bests were achieved in 2019, her most recent year in Supercars and the last for the Nissan Altima.
That model of vehicle, through many iterations during its seven years in the Championship, invariably struggled against whichever Ford and Holden it shared the track with, picking up just three race wins.
De Silvestro affirmed that there is a sense of unfinished business in the Australian touring car category, as she prepares to join forces with the squad which, as DJR Team Penske, won two drivers’ championship, two teams’ championships, and a Bathurst 1000 during her three full-time campaigns.
“I think there’s always unfinished business,” the 34-year-old told select media, including Speedcafe.
“When I look at my three years in Supercars, I felt I developed quite well throughout the years but definitely I think the car that I was in maybe wasn’t able to be where it should be.
“So, I think just getting this opportunity, for sure, coming back to Bathurst is one thing, but I think that coming back with this team, I want to work even harder to get a good result and to really come out of the weekend on a high because I think we have all the pieces to do pretty well.
“I think, unfinished business, it’s always there. You want to be winning and you want to show what you can when you’re in a race car, so this is an amazing opportunity for it.”
The 2023 Bathurst 1000 takes place on October 5-8.
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