Dylan O’Keeffe has experienced an up-and-down weekend in Round 3 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Phillip Island, aboard the Autoglym-backed Ashley Seward Motorsport Lynk & Co.
The weekend started on a positive note with a strong fourth place in qualifying, despite dealing with the handicap of success ballast following his strong run in the previous round at Symmons Plains.
In Race 1, O’Keeffe took advantage of a skirmish involving the race leaders to move up to third position, which he held through to the finish.
Starting eighth for Race 2 due to the inverted top 10 format, O’Keeffe was shuffled back a few laps in the early stages before his race came to a spectacular end with a high-speed spin into the gravel trap in the final corner, suspected to have been caused by a tyre issue.
“With the success ballast, even though our lap times were decent, it was hard to pass people because we were down on straight-line speed,” O’Keeffe said.
“The DNF in Race 2 was not ideal, but at least that race wasn’t worth as many points, so it wasn’t as costly as it might have been.”
With the Race 3 grid set from combined points from Races 1 and 2, O’Keeffe started near the tail end of the field but was able to progress to eighth.
“In the last race, it was just about making up as many spots as I could, but it was always going to be a tough task with the extra weight,” he said.
”I was pushing hard, but backed off in the last couple of laps to ensure we finished in a solid position.”
Overall, O’Keeffe ended up 10th for the round.
“It wasn’t the result we were aiming for, but at least we came away with some points and the good news is we get to remove the success ballast for the next round,” he concluded.
Round 4 of TCR Australia will be held at The Bend Motorsport Park on 31 May to 2 June, while O’Keeffe’s next outing will be Round 2 of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup at Taupo this weekend.
TCR Round Results Summary
Qualifying: 4th
Race 1: 3rd
Race 2: DNF
Race 3: 8th
Overall: 10th
TCR Australia – Top 10 Points
- Ben Bargwanna – 300
- Zac Soutar – 293
- Josh Buchan – 278
- Clay Richards – 277
- Jordan Cox – 265
- Ryan Casha – 257
- Brad Harris – 256
- Dylan O’Keeffe – 242
- Aaron Cameron – 220
- Tony D’Alberto – 215
