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Alfa’s Dylan O’Keeffe goes fastest in Practice 2
Dylan O’Keefe used a later flyer in his Alfa Romeo Giulietta to top the times on the opening day of the TCR Australian Touring Car series at Phillip Island.
Garth Tander was quickest for much of the day, setting the fastest time in the first of two 30-minute sessions in his Audi RS3, and looked to be on track for a sweep before a late incident in the second session saw him towed back to the pits with a broken car.
“I thought I’d gone too deep into Honda on the brakes. I drove around on the grass and when I came back onto the track it had no drive,” Tander reported.
“I though it was better to get towed back, rather than drive it and cause more damage.
“It’s a pity, because it was a good lap. I was half-a-second up.”
The session was red-flagged while he was retrieved, and when the track went green it opened the door for O’Keefe to pounce in an Alfa which is one of the quickest cars on the straights.
He trimmed his time to 1 minute 36.6334 seconds, which was enough to slide four-tenths under Tander.
Andre Heimgartner finished a solid day in third place with his Subaru WRX, while John Martin made it four different makes in the top four with his Honda Civic Type R.
Wintry conditions on The Island meant there were plenty of cold-tyre slides and several high-speed trips through the grass, including one by Tander in the first session after he spun at Turn One.
But there was no body damage and only set-up niggles for most of the 18-car field.
Championship leader Will Brown was off the pace in his Hyundai i30 N, only eighth, but reported a turbo boost problem in the first session and a car that was “too lively” for his liking.
Qualifying and Race 1 will be headline’s tomorrow’s action at the Phillip Island circuit.
Results, Practice 2
| Pos | Car | Competitor/Team | Driver | Vehicle | Fastest lap | Gap |
| 1 | 9 | Ashley Seward Motorsport | Dylan O’Keeffe | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 14 1:36.6334 | |
| 2 | 4 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Garth Tander | Audi RS 3 | 5 1:36.9980 | 0:00.3646 |
| 3 | 777 | Kelly Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Subaru WRX STi | 6 1:37.5078 | 0:00.8744 |
| 4 | 24 | Wall Racing | John Martin | Honda Civic Type R | 7 1:37.6004 | 0:00.9670 |
| 5 | 22 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Hamish Ribartis | Audi RS 3 | 9 1:37.8040 | 0:01.1706 |
| 6 | 33 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Chris Pither | Renault Megane RS | 5 1:38.2186 | 0:01.5852 |
| 7 | 50 | Wall Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 3 1:38.2536 | 0:01.6202 |
| 8 | 30 | HMO Customer Racing | William Brown | Hyundai i30N | 4 1:38.3596 | 0:01.7262 |
| 9 | 2 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Aaron Cameron | Volkswagen Golf GTI | 12 1:38.3794 | 0:01.7460 |
| 10 | 11 | HMO Customer Racing | Nathan Morcom | Hyundai i30N | 4 1:38.4394 | 0:01.8060 |
| 11 | 7 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Jimmy Vernon | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 7 1:38.5259 | 0:01.8925 |
| 12 | 8 | Taskforce / Alliance Autosport | Jason Bright | Volkswagon Golf GTI | 7 1:38.6258 | 0:01.9924 |
| 13 | 34 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | James Moffat | Renault Megane RS | 6 1:38.8240 | 0:02.1906 |
| 14 | 3 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Leanne Tander | Audi RS 3 | 6 1:39.2142 | 0:02.5808 |
| 15 | 62 | Kelly Racing | Alex Rullo | Holden Astra | 4 1:39.3250 | 0:02.6916 |
| 16 | 6 | Kelly Racing | Molly Taylor | Subaru WRX STi | 8 1:41.8469 | 0:05.2135 |
| 17 | 35 | Alliance Autosport | Alexandra Whitley | Volkswagon Golf GTI | 8 1:43.3913 | 0:06.7579 |
| 18 | 37 | Kelly Racing | Chelsea Angelo | Holden Astra | 9 1:43.8593 | 0:07.2259 |