De Silvestro acclimatising to “different” Nissan

The Swiss star and co-driver Renee Gracie are on to the second day of a two-day pre-Bathurst test at Winton in the Altima, which means yesterday was the first time for both drivers in the Nissan.

According to de Silvestro, the Nissan is taking some getting used to compared to the Falcon.

"Early on I couldn't feel the braking of the car as much as I would have liked, but that was mainly due to the cold track temperature,” she said.

“The Nissan Altima is quite different to what we drove last year although as the temperature rose I felt much more comfortable. The crew were great throughout and I'm feeling really positive after a solid first day."

Gracie echoed de Silvestro’s sentiments, also claiming that some adjustment was needed with the switch from her regular Dunlop Series Falcon to the Altima.

“[It was] a good first day, although the car initially took some adjusting to with the steering, visibility and seating position,” she added. “We made some tuning and comfort changes and the consistency in the afternoon was good. I'm looking forward to more running and possibly some wet weather time, plus pit stops."

The girls will race the Nissan as a Wildcard entry at the Bathurst 1000, having debuted the ‘Harvey Norman Supergirls’ concept in a Prodrive-run car 12 months ago.