Dylan O’Keeffe has left Round 3 of the Dunlop Super2 Series in Townsville encouraged by his Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore’s qualifying speed, despite a couple of difficulties in the weekend’s two races.
In his first visit to the Reid Park street circuit, O’Keeffe was pleased with his qualifying results of eighth and ninth.
“We were happy with the car in Friday practice, and that one-lap speed translated to good qualifying pace,” O’Keeffe said.
“The first session was particularly good, and I could have easily been in the top four if I hadn’t made a slight mistake in the middle sector during my fastest lap.”
In Race 1, O’Keeffe’s chances of a good result were compromised when he was involved in a multi-car collision in the first corner. He was deemed at fault for the incident and received a drive-through penalty, but recovered to finish 12th.
“I was on the inside heading into Turn 1, and slightly misjudged my braking marker on the less grippy side of the track,” O’Keeffe said. Unfortunately, I locked up and made contact with another car, which was my fault and I accept the penalty.”
A light shower of rain fell just before the start of Race 2, making the track very greasy. O’Keeffe said it was not easy to launch the powerful Supercar on the low-grip surface.
“When I released the clutch, I had too much wheel-spin and the car was on the rev-limiter in first gear,” he said.
The slow start saw O’Keeffe falling back through the field, and his opportunities to recover the lost positions were limited due to two long Safety Car periods – he finished 14th.
“There weren’t many racing laps, and there was no grip off the racing line due to the rain,” he said.
“I don’t think our results in either race reflected our speed this weekend, but it’s all part of my learning curve with these cars.
“Fortunately, it’s only three weeks until the next Super2 round at Queensland Raceway, where me and the awesome crew at Garry Rogers Motorsport can put into place everything we’ve learned this weekend.
“I’m also looking forward to returning to the Alfa Romeo TCR car at The Bend next weekend,” O’Keeffe concluded.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying 1: 8th
Race 1: 12th
Qualifying 2: 9th
Race 2: 14th
Overall: 10th
Super2 Points – After Round 3
1. Bryce Fullwood – 850
2. Zane Goddard – 717
3. Ashley Walsh – 528
4. Kurt Kostecki – 506
5. Jake Kostecki – 500
6. Adam Marjoram – 470
7. Thomas Randle – 469
8. Brenton Grove – 468
9. Will Brown – 450
10. Jack Smith – 440
11. Dylan O’Keeffe – 434
