Dylan o’keeffe

O’Keeffe Takes Carrera Cup Lead With Darwin Domination

A dominant weekend in Darwin has catapulted Dexion racer Dylan O’Keeffe into the outright lead of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia series.

After qualifying on pole by the tiniest of margins in an ultra-competitive session, O’Keeffe achieved a rare “clean sweep”, leading every lap of the weekend on his way to three wins from three races.

While he emerged from the weekend with a perfect scorecard, O’Keeffe said the task was far from easy due to the high standard of driving from his rivals.

“There was never any stage during the weekend where I felt comfortable; I was under pressure all the way,” O’Keeffe said.

“Qualifying was super-close, and I never led by more than a second in any of the races; there were no opportunities to relax and I couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.

“In particular, the second 45-minute race on Sunday morning was intense – it was lap after lap of unrelenting pressure while also having to manage the tyres and maintain concentration.

“To battle fiercely all weekend against such high-quality opposition and come away with three race wins is extremely satisfying.”

O’Keeffe paid tribute to his RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia team for their efforts before and during the event.

“The GWR crew have done a sensational job with the car; we felt we had made some gains when we tested a couple of weeks ago, so to translate those improvements into race results is a big reward for them,” he said.

“My team-mate Matt Belford won the Pro-Am class as well, so overall it was a sensational weekend for the team.”

O’Keeffe also took the chance to wish his father Chris a happy birthday.

“Dad celebrated his birthday today, he’s been the biggest supporter of my motorsport activities since I started in karts many years ago, so this is an awesome present for him,” O’Keeffe concluded.

The next Carrera Cup round will be held from 8-10 August at Queensland Raceway.