Dylan O’Keeffe has held onto the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia points lead, despite enduring his worst overall result of the season so far in the penultimate round at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on the weekend.
After battling with balance on his second set of tyres in qualifying, O’Keeffe ended up seventh and eighth on the grid for the weekend’s first two races.
“In qualifying, the first set of tyres felt good, but when we changed to the second set for our next run, I was struggling for balance and then I suffered a puncture, which meant I didn’t do a lap that was representative of our pace,” O’Keeffe said.
O’Keeffe made up two positions on the first lap of Race 1, but it was all for nought as a mid-field pileup on the second lap saw the race red-flagged and declared null-and-void.
“It was disappointing that the first race was red-flagged, as I was on course to extend my championship lead,” he said.
In Race 2, O’Keeffe was running seventh before an attempted overtaking move at the first chicane went awry.
“I was being pressured from behind and I felt I had a pace advantage on the car ahead, so I went for a move,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, I locked wheels with the other car which broke my steering. I was able to get back to the pits and the GWR Australia crew did a mega job to fix it, but when I returned to the track, I had no power steering and I was well off the pace.
“I got lapped by the leaders a couple of laps before the finish, which left me a lap short of being classified as a finisher. It was absolutely gutting for the team after their massive effort.”
In the third and final race, O’Keeffe charged from the back of the grid to 10th to at least salvage some points from a difficult weekend. However, his points lead has been reduced to 24 heading into the season finale at Adelaide in late November.
“The margin is obviously less comfortable than it was after Bathurst, but the good news is that I’m still in front,” O’Keeffe said.
“The GWR crew demonstrated this weekend that they have a never-say-die attitude, so I’ll be making sure I live up to my end of the bargain in Adelaide and leave nothing on the table in my quest for the title,” O’Keeffe concluded.
Carrera Cup Round 7 Results Summary
Race 1 qualifying: 7th
Race 2 qualifying: 8th
Race 1: No race
Race 2: DNF
Race 3: 10th
Overall: 12th
