Simona de Silvestro signs for Nissan in Supercars - MotorSportsTalk

Recent IndyCar and Formula E driver Simona de Silvestro has signed with Nissan in the Australian Supercars series on a three-year deal.

After losing her Formula E seat with Andretti at the end of the all-electric series’ second season, de Silvestro announced in September that she would be moving into Supercars for 2017.

On Wednesday, it was confirmed that the Swiss racer would be linking back up with Nissan Motorsport, having previously raced for the manufacturer at Bathurst.

“I’m really excited to be joining the team, and I can’t wait for next season,” de Silvestro said.

“In joining Nissan Motorsport, I think the biggest thing is being a factory driver. It’s great to have the trust from Nissan Motorsport to give me the chance to drive for them.

“I really enjoyed driving for them at Bathurst, I really enjoyed the car, so there were a lot of things I really liked. And the team as well, it’s a great team, you see there’s a lot of potential in the team.

“So working with them hopefully will bring a lot of success.”

The move marks de Silvestro’s first permanent foray away from single-seaters, having previously raced in IndyCar, Formula E, the Atlantic Championship, Formula BMW and Formula Renault.

“I think it’s going to be a pretty big challenge for me. Like I’ve said before, most of my career has been in open wheel,” de Silvestro said.

“The Nissan Altima was feeling pretty great at Bathurst, so I’m sure at the other tracks I’m going to be able to adapt a lot quicker.

“Learning the tracks and working with the team will be a big challenge but looking forward to it.”

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

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