Dylan O’Keeffe has returned to the podium in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, finishing third overall in Round 2 at Winton.
The highlight of O’Keeffe’s weekend was qualifying, where he achieved his first pole position in the category aboard the Dexion/RAM Motorsport Type 992 Porsche Cup car; it was also the maiden pole position for his GWR Australia team.
Following a strong start in Race 1, O’Keeffe looked to be on target to convert his pole position to victory until an unfortunate tangle with a backmarker a couple of laps from home saw him relegated to second.
“The car was really strong and I was leading comfortably,” O’Keeffe said.
“Another car dropped coolant on the track and I had a big slide at one point, which allowed the others to catch up, but I still had them covered.
“Unfortunately, a couple of laps from home, I caught a backmarker in the worst-possible position on the track at Turns 8 and 9; we made contact, I damaged my front splitter and when I got to Turn 10, I was overtaken around the outside.”
Races 2 and 3 were less eventful for O’Keeffe; in Race 2, he lost a place at the start and ran in third position for the entire duration. The same thing happened in the final race, O’Keeffe being relegated to fourth position in the first corner.
“In the last two races, our pace was consistent but my starts weren’t as good as they needed to be and I lost track position,” O’Keeffe said.
While a race victory went begging, O’Keeffe’s consistency saw him finishing on the podium for the round, banking a healthy points haul and moving inside the top five in the championship.
“Overall, it was a much better weekend than the Grand Prix and in particular, our qualifying speed was vastly improved,” O’Keeffe said.
“There are still some little things we can work on to improve our race pace, but for the next round we’re heading to Darwin, a track with fond memories for me – it’s where I scored my first round win in 2018.”
The Darwin Carrera Cup round takes place from 17-19 June, while O’Keeffe is next on track for Round 4 of TCR Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park next weekend.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 1st
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 3rd
Race 3: 4th
Overall: 3rd
Carrera Cup Championship Points
1. Harri Jones – 309
2. David Russell – 239
3. David Wall – 234
4. Max Vidau – 232
5. Dylan O’Keeffe – 212
6. Dale Wood – 166
7. Christian Pancione – 154
8. Aaron Love – 147
9. Simon Fallon – 144
10. Ryan Suhle – 143
