Dylan O’Keeffe has moved to within a handful of points of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia lead, after finishing second overall in Round 2 of the series at the Australian Grand Prix.
Qualifying fifth for Race 1, O’Keeffe gained a place early in the race and capitalised on penalties for a couple of his rivals to finish second.
“In qualifying, we probably de-tuned the car slightly compared to practice, and didn’t quite have the one-lap pace that we needed, but I was still able to bank a couple of solid laps,” O’Keeffe said.
“In the first race, our pace was good enough to run in the lead pack and I got lucky with a couple of other drivers receiving penalties, but you take that luck when you can.”
Starting fourth on the grid for Race 2, O’Keeffe ran third in the early stages but was checked up just after a Safety Car restart when the race leader ran off the circuit and created a bottleneck; nevertheless, he fought back to finish fifth.
“The car was definitely improved in Race 2, but at the Safety Car restart I copped a hard hit that knocked the steering wheel out of my hand, and I had to fight just to stay on the track,” he said.
“I was relieved to finish in the top five and bank some more valuable points.”
The combined results from the first two races saw O’Keeffe lining up second on the grid for Race 3; he made a brilliant start to take the lead into the first corner and held onto first place for the majority of the race, before being overtaken by an international guest driver a few laps from home.
“In Race 3, the car was the best it had been all weekend, but I wasn’t quite able to hold on for the win,” he said.
“However, second place overall was by far my best result at the Grand Prix and with my team-mate Jackson Walls winning the round, it was a 1-2 finish for GWR Australia which was a terrific result for the team.
“Importantly, I finished ahead of my main championship rivals, which has put me in a very strong position; it’s definitely the best start I’ve had to a Carrera Cup season.
“There’s a big break before Round 3, so plenty of time to recharge, re-focus and get ready to go on the attack,” O’Keeffe concluded.
Round 3 of Carrera Cup will be held at Darwin’s Hidden Valley circuit, 20-22 June.
Carrera Cup Round 2 Results Summary
Race 1 qualifying: 5th
Race 2 qualifying: 4th
Race 1: 2nd
Race 2: 5th
Race 3: 2nd
Overall: 2nd
Carrera Cup Top 10 Points
- Harri Jones – 303
- Dylan O’Keeffe – 288
- Bayley Hall – 240
- Marcos Flack – 193
- Oscar Targett – 170
- Jackson Walls – 156
- David Russell – 155
- Dale Wood – 155
- Clay Osborne – 152
- Marco Giltrap – 138
