The development, as predicted by Speedcafe, is the latest move by the Arundel-based Supercars team to bolster its engineering firepower, after the signing of Ludo Lacroix.
An exact role is still yet to be confirmed for either, although De Rosa was Tim Slade’s Race Engineer during their two years together at BRT, in 2021 and 2022, and Speedcafe understands they will be reunited on PremiAir’s #23 Chevrolet Camaro.
“Mirko is a well-respected and successful race engineer, and with a decade of experience in the Supercars paddock under his belt, including some great results along the way, there is no doubt his appointment will further bolster our engineering department ahead of the new season,” said PremiAir Team Owner Peter Xiberras.
“He also has a great relationship with several members of our team already, including with Tim, with the pair having enjoyed a successful working partnership for two years.
“We are all greatly looking forward to welcoming Mirko to our engineering line-up here at PremiAir Racing for what is shaping up to be a truly exciting year ahead.”
De Rosa, who has spent 10 years in the Supercars paddock thus far, said, “I am looking forward to joining the team at PremiAir Racing and I can’t wait to share some success with the team.
“I can see what Pete is trying to achieve and his vision, and I am very excited to be a part of it.”
While the Italian is likely to form part of the Car #23 crew, intrigue now surrounds James Golding’s #31 Camaro following the departure of Dr Geoff Slater.
Although Slater’s most recent role at PremiAir was as Director of Engineering, he has been Golding’s Race Engineer until Simon Hodge arrived on secondment from Triple Eight ahead of last year’s enduros.
Whether that means Romy Mayer, who became the regular Race Engineer on Slade’s car in the back end of the 2023 season, swaps sides of the PremiAir garage is unclear.
Lacroix comes to PremiAir from Dick Johnson Racing after three years as Anton De Pasquale’s Race Engineer – as was De Rosa, coincidentally, for the two years prior at Erebus Motorsport – but it is thought he was signed up with the intent of taking some sort of overarching position at Arundel.
PremiAir, which provided a car and crew for yesterday’s category engine test at Queensland Raceway, is set to conduct its own test at the Ipswich circuit on Monday, February 5 with the rest of the Sunshine State-based teams.
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