Dylan O’Keeffe has wrestled back the lead of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship with a rousing second place overall in Round 6 at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
The weekend started on a quiet note for O’Keeffe, who struggled with car balance on a wet track during Thursday’s practice session, before qualifying ninth and sixth for the first two races.
“During practice, I just couldn’t get the tyres to switch on in the wet conditions, and in qualifying there were multiple red flags which ruined my opportunities to get a clean lap,” O’Keeffe said.
When the track dried for Friday’s opening race, O’Keeffe was immediately more comfortable with the performance of his Dexion Porsche and he charged forward with some incisive passes, including a spectacular move around the outside through the Chase, ultimately making his way up to second.
Starting sixth for Race 2, O’Keeffe enjoyed an excellent opening lap, gaining two positions up Mountain Straight; he made up two further positions before the end of the race to again finish in second position.
Combined points from the first two races saw O’Keeffe starting on the front row of the grid for Race 3; after slotting into second place at the start, he punched out the fastest lap of the race and pressured the leader in the closing laps, completing the weekend with another second place.
O’Keeffe’s big bundle of points vaulted him back to the top of the standings with two rounds to go.
“In Carrera Cup, the Mountain has been a bit of a bogey track for me, so it was nice to turn that form around,” O’Keeffe said.
“We battled during the wet conditions on Thursday, but once the track dried out, the car was an absolute jet and I had genuine speed to be able to pass people.
“From a championship perspective, it was a great weekend; there was definitely some luck involved, but in motorsport sometimes you have to take the good luck when it’s presented to you.
“There are two rounds to go at the Gold Coast and Adelaide, two tracks I really enjoy, so I’ll be leaving no stone unturned in my efforts to bring home the championship,” O’Keeffe concluded.
The next Carrera Cup round is at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, 24-26 October.
Carrera Cup Round 6 Results Summary
Race 1 qualifying: 9th
Race 2 qualifying: 6th
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 2nd
Race 3: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
Carrera Cup Top 10 Points
- Dylan O’Keeffe – 876
- Harri Jones – 827
- David Russell – 668
- Bayley Hall – 635
- Dale Wood – 490
- Marco Giltrap – 440
- Angelo Mouzouris – 425
- Marcos Flack – 417
- Oscar Targett – 396
- Clay Osborne – 396
