Dylan O’Keeffe has completed his 2023 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup season with a determined drive from eighth on the grid to second place in the very last race of the year at the VAILO Adelaide 500 on the weekend.
After the weekend’s opening two practice sessions were compromised by wet weather, O’Keeffe qualified a strong third despite the lack of dry running.
“Unlike the previous round at the Gold Coast, we had to go out on track during the wet practice sessions, because there was a chance the rain was going to continue during the weekend,” O’Keeffe said.
“In qualifying, I had a few lock-ups and didn’t quite make the most of my slick tyres, but still managed to qualify third.”
In the first race – the long distance Endurance Cup event – O’Keeffe ran inside the lead pack for the duration and crossed the line fourth. Unfortunately, a collision with Bayley Hall at Turn 9 resulted in a 15-second post-race penalty, demoting O’Keeffe to ninth.
“The car was good and we were on target to win the Endurance Cup, but unfortunately there was an incident where the cars in front checked up and I ran into Bailey,” he said.
“It wasn’t intentional but he was disadvantaged, so I’ll cop the penalty on the chin.”
A Safety Car in Race 2 saw the distance reduced but O’Keeffe was able to make up one spot to finish eighth. He was able to avoid a multi-car collision at the start of Race 3 (gaining four spots on the opening lap). The Safety Car was again deployed while the stranded Porsches were retrieved, and upon the resumption of play he gained two more spots with some inspired overtaking moves, finishing second.
In the final analysis, O’Keeffe finished fourth for the round and was classified fourth in the overall standings.
“In the last race, we got back to where we should have been all weekend,” O’Keeffe said.
“It’s just a shame the incident happened in Race 1, because it meant we got pipped to third in the championship for the second year in a row! But overall, it’s been another good season, excellent to deliver the GWR/RAM Motorsport team their first Carrera Cup round win and we bounced back strongly after our tough start to the season,” O’Keeffe said.
“As always, a massive thank you to the crew and all our sponsors for their support throughout the year – bring on 2024!”
Carrera Cup Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 3rd
Race 1: 9th
Race 2: 8th
Race 3: 2nd
Overall: 4th
Carrera Cup Final Points
- Callum Hedge – 932
- Jackson Walls – 905
- Dale Wood – 757
- Dylan O’Keeffe – 751
- Max Vidau – 664
- Bayley Hall – 649
- Fabian Coulthard – 563
- Alex Davison – 493
- Simon Fallon – 438
- Christian Pancione – 424
