Team boss backs Angelo for Supercars seat

Angelo began the season running a Dragon Motor Racing-owned Commodore in the second-tier Dunlop Series, but found herself on the sidelines ahead of the Townsville round back in July thanks to financial constraints.

But the 20-year-old returned to the series at Sandown last weekend, Supercars driver and Angelo’s mentor Chris Pither helping facilitate a deal that saw her behind the wheel of a Matthew White Motorsport-run Falcon.

It was a noteworthy comeback as well. Angelo finished 10th in the weekend’s second race – the first Top 10 finish for a female in a Supercars race in seven years – before setting the third fastest lap in the wet during Race 3.

It was enough to leave team owner White, a man who has worked with plenty of young talent including the likes of Chaz Mostert and Tim Slade in the past, suitably impressed.

“We’ve had a lot of very good drivers come through our team and progress to the main series over the years,” said White.

“From the first time Chelsea sat in the car at Winton she’s displayed a lot of the key traits that we’ve seen in the likes of Chaz and Tim before. I’ve been impressed by her raw speed and how smooth she is with her inputs, which is very important in these cars.

“At Sandown we saw that her throttle application and braking were right there, it was just her confidence to really attack the kerbing that we need to build up.

“But she seems to be a fast learner and is already very focussed on where she can improve ahead of Bathurst.

“It’s really exciting for us and the sport to see the ability that Chelsea has.

“It’s early days, but it’s very clear to me that Chelsea has the potential to succeed in the Dunlop Series and eventually graduate into the Supercars Championship.”

Angelo will continue with the team for the next round at Bathurst, which will be her first trip to the daunting Mount Panorama circuit in a Supercar.

“I learnt a lot at Sandown and have taken a lot of confidence from the speed that we showed,” she said

“I’m quite hard on myself and it was unfortunate that we could not put more results on the board, but there were definitely a lot of positives for me to take from the weekend. There’s a great environment in the team and so much that I can learn from their experience of working with young drivers.

“I’m really excited to be going to Bathurst next month and seeing what we can do there.

“It will be a lot different than in a Formula 3 car so the key will be to build up my confidence as the weekend unfolds.”

Angelo is shooting to become the second full-time female driver competing in the top tier of Supercars racing, following the recent announcement that Simona de Silvestro has inked a three-year deal with the series.

Renee Gracie is also eyeing a Supercars future, the Dunlop Series regular set to partner up with de Silvestro in a Wildcard entry at Bathurst for the second year in a row.