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Rollercoaster Weekend for O’Keeffe at Phillip Island
It was a rollercoaster weekend for Dylan O’Keeffe in the third round of the 2024 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, driving the Ashley Seward Motorsport Autoglym Lynk & Co 03 TCR at Phillip Island.
After finishing second overall at Symmons Plains, O’Keeffe carried 30kg’s of success ballast for the following round of the series. Despite the handicap, his weekend started strongly with fourth in qualifying.
With the tangle at the front in Race 1 (between Brad Harris, Tony D’Alberto and Josh Buchan), O’Keeffe was able to capitalise and rose up to finish in third place and record his third podium of the season. Following the inverted top-10, the Autogylm/ASM Lynk & Co started out of eighth for Race 2, but a suspected tyre issue sent O’Keeffe off the road at the final corner and brought about his first DNF in 2024.
“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.”
By virtue of the combined points grid format, O’Keeffe launched from 11th on the grid for the final race of the weekend. Across the 16 lap race, he moved his Lynk & Co up the order to finish in eighth place. The results put O’Keeffe 10th for the round, and eighth in the points standings with four rounds still to run in 2024.
“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. 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.
The fourth round of the 2024 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series takes place from May 31-June 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park, as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.