Rookies De Silvestro, Rullo pass first test

Alex Rullo and Simona De Silvestro passed their first test as full-time Supercars drivers by finishing a gruelling opening 250km at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

Rullo ended his day two laps down but survived the high temperatures that forced team-mate Taz Douglas to temporarily leave his car after a cool suit failure.

Sixteen-year-old Rullo’s off-season training was limited after he had surgery to remove his appendix less than two months ago.

“It was pretty tough to get through it but we made it in the end,” he said of today's race.

“The hardest thing was to maintain 100 percent focus and manage the numb foot that I’m sure a lot of the guys would have got during the race.

“Just to keep that focus, keep drinking without vomiting in the car and drive at 100 percent the whole time is a big ask.

“The big test will be tomorrow, today was just the warm-up.”

De Silvestro finished as the last car on the lead lap in 20th and felt she managed the physical challenge better than expected.

“The heat was okay,” she said.

“Everybody freaked me out so much about it... but it's actually okay once you're out there and in your rhythm.

“It was kind of cool in the beginning of the race because we were around cars and fighting a little bit, so that was really good and I enjoyed that.

“I think the pace can be a little bit better but the car was really good. I think for a first one we'll take it. 

“We finished and learned a lot during the race. I made a few mistakes in the pits but we'll be better tomorrow.”