Dylan O’Keeffe is hoping some precious racing laps at the recently-opened Tailem Bend circuit will give him the edge over his rivals at this weekend’s sixth round of the Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup at the OTR SuperSprint.
The APB Group Porsche driver competed in the Australian GT Championship round at The Bend alongside Ash Samadi in April, and also completed a Carrera Cup test day at the venue with the Ashley Seward Motorsport team.
“Because Tailem Bend is a brand-new track, any laps have been extremely valuable – that’s why it was so important for me to run in the GT round,” O’Keeffe said.
“Having that knowledge of the track, and an idea of how to attack each corner, means we can hit the ground running from the first practice session.
“We’ll still have to be on the ball with car setup – the track conditions will change over the weekend and we’ll have to stay on top of things – but at least we have a good starting point.”
O’Keeffe closed to within 13 points of the championship lead in the most recent round at Sydney Motorsport Park, but says there is still lots of hard work ahead.
“When you look at the last three rounds of the year, they all present major challenges,” O’Keeffe said.
“The Bend is a brand-new track, Bathurst is a circuit which is all about pure commitment and bravery, and then we finish at Surfers Paradise which has chicanes, big kerbs and concrete walls.
“I’m focused on doing the best I can in each individual race – if I do that, the championship will take care of itself.”
Carrera Cup Round 6 Schedule
Friday, 24 August
10:00 – Practice 1 (30 min)
14:20 – Practice 2 (30 min)
Saturday, 25 August
12:10 – Qualifying (20 min)
14:50 – Race 1 (20 laps)
Sunday, 26 August
9:50 – Race 2 (8 laps)
12:35 – Race 3 (8 laps)
