Garry Rogers Motorsport Super2 Series competitor Dylan O’Keeffe believes his experience in other cars at the coveted Mount Panorama circuit will serve him well for his debut in a Supercar at the iconic venue this weekend.
O’Keeffe has raced at Bathurst in a variety of vehicles since 2016, including Porsche Carrera Cup cars, an Audi R8 GT3 and most recently, a MARC Car in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
This weekend, the 21-year-old Melbourne driver, who is the highest-placed rookie in the standings, will compete in the 250km Dunlop Super2 race on Saturday. It will be the longest single-driver race O’Keeffe has done, but he is not fazed by the task ahead.
“With all the laps I’ve done at Bathurst over the last few years, I feel like I’ve done my apprenticeship on the Mountain,” O’Keeffe said.
“The Supercar will obviously be a different beast to the other cars I’ve driven, but with the progress I’ve made in the Super2 Series this year and all the preparation work we’ve done in the lead-up to the event, I’m confident of achieving a good result.”
O’Keeffe and his Garry Rogers Motorsport team completed a test day at Winton last week, where they focused on preparing for some of the event’s unique challenges.
“At Bathurst, we run the tallest drop-gear ratio and we’ll be starting the race on a full tank of fuel, so I did some practice starts to familiarise myself with the best technique for launching off the line.
“We also practised some pit stops; I’ve done endurance races before, but the pit-stop process with a Supercar is a bit different to some of the other cars I’ve driven, particularly with the refuelling and tyre change happening both at the same time.”
O’Keeffe said the nature of the Bathurst circuit will throw other variables into the equation.
“More so than any other Super2 race this year, there will be lots of unpredictability – Safety Cars, different strategies, changes in weather… we have to be ready for everything.
“My main goal is to demonstrate I can be fast and consistent over a long-distance race, and deal with different circumstances as they arise.”
Dunlop Super2 Series – Round 6 Schedule
Thursday, 10 October
14:25 – Practice 1 (40 min)
Friday, 11 October
10:10 – Practice 2 (40 min)
14:40 – Qualifying (40 min)
Saturday, 12 October
9:10 – Warm-up (15 min)
15:00 – Race (41 laps)
