O’Keeffe grabs TCR pole at SMP

Dylan O’Keeffe has converted the Renaults’ practice pace into pole position for Round 4 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Sydney Motorsport Park.

O’Keeffe and fellow Garry Rogers Motorsport Megane driver James Moffat, who each topped a practice session on the day prior, ended up first and third respectively after the two qualifying sessions at ‘Eastern Creek’.

They will be split on the starting grid this afternoon by HMO Customer Racing’s Josh Buchan, in a Hyundai, while series leader Chaz Mostert ended up sixth in his Melbourne Performance Centre Audi.

There were a number of surprise omissions from the top 10, however, such as Luke King (Audi), Lee Holdsworth (Alfa Romeo), and Jordan Cox (Alfa Romeo).

O’Keeffe was quickest in Qualifying 2 once he had set his first flyer, a 1:35.6231s, and the #33 Renault would remain on top for the rest of the 10-minute session.

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He clocked a 1:33.8916s on his second timed lap and a 1:33.3867s on his third, the latter of which ended up being the pole time.

Wall Racing’s John Martin was second-best for some time in the #24 Honda, his best being a 1:33.8141s on his third lap.

Buchan subsequently clocked a 1:33.5786s that would be good enough to put the #30 i30 N on the front row, while HMO team-mate Nathan Morcom at one point held fourth thanks to a 1:33.8276s.

Moffat, meanwhile, had rotated the #34 Renault but put that behind him to lay down a 1:33.7863s with the chequered flag out and seize third position.

As such, Martin ended up fourth and Morcom fifth, with Mostert’s best a 1:33.8901s on his second lap.

Rounding out the top 10 are Tony D’Alberto (Honda), Michael Caruso (Alfa Romeo), Aaron Cameron (Peugeot), and Jason Bargwanna (Peugeot).

When the chequered flag had come earlier in Qualifying 1, names such as Mostert, Holdsworth, Cox, Moffat, and Luke King were all outside the top 10, and not all made it in.

Moffat quickly dug himself out of the hole but Holdsworth’s final lap only elevated the #10 Ashley Seward Motorsport Giulietta to 11th at the time.

Mostert then jumped to ninth, bumping Ben Bargwanna (Peugeot) out of the top 10, before Brad Shiels (Hyundai) took 10th off Caruso.

The GRM Giulietta driver would subsequently grab ninth spot, however, knocking Shiels back out as Mostert just scraped into Qualifying 2.

Notables outside the top 10 when the music stopped were therefore Shiels in 11th, Holdsworth in 13th, King in 15th, and Cox in 16th, the latter reporting that his car had “no power”.

Race 1, a 15-lapper, is scheduled to start this afternoon at 13:25 local time/AEST.

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Results: Qualifying 2

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	33	Lowbake Racing GRM	Dylan O’Keeffe	Renault Megane RS	1:33.3867
2	30	HMO Customer Racing	Josh Buchan	Hyundai i30N	1:33.5786	0:00.1919
3	34	LMCT+ Racing GRM	James Moffat	Renault Megane RS	1:33.7863	0:00.3996
4	24	Mobil 1 Wall Racing	John Martin	Honda Civic Type R	1:33.8141	0:00.4274
5	25	MPC Bostik Racing	Chaz Mostert	Audi RS 3	1:33.8901	0:00.5034
6	11	HMO Customer Racing	Nathan Morcom	Hyundai i30N	1:34.0439	0:00.6572
7	50	Honda Wall Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Honda Civic Type R	1:34.1781	0:00.7914
8	150	Valvoline Racing GRM	Michael Caruso	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	1:34.1950	0:00.8083
9	155	Team Valvoline GRM	Aaron Cameron	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:34.2429	0:00.8562
10	17	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Jason Bargwanna	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:34.4263	0:01.0396

Results: Qualifying 1

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	30	HMO Customer Racing	Josh Buchan	Hyundai i30N	1:33.8424
2	11	HMO Customer Racing	Nathan Morcom	Hyundai i30N	1:34.2010	0:00.3586
3	24	Mobil 1 Wall Racing	John Martin	Honda Civic Type R	1:34.2892	0:00.4468
4	33	Lowbake Racing GRM	Dylan O’Keeffe	Renault Megane RS	1:34.3031	0:00.4607
5	50	Honda Wall Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Honda Civic Type R	1:34.3148	0:00.4724
6	17	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Jason Bargwanna	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:34.3298	0:00.4874
7	155	Team Valvoline GRM	Aaron Cameron	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:34.5458	0:00.7034
8	34	LMCT+ Racing GRM	James Moffat	Renault Megane RS	1:34.5840	0:00.7416
9	150	Valvoline Racing GRM	Michael Caruso	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	1:34.7052	0:00.8628
10	25	MPC Bostik Racing	Chaz Mostert	Audi RS 3	1:34.7288	0:00.8864
11	333	Tilton Racing	Brad Shiels	Hyundai i30N	1:34.7687	0:00.9263
12	71	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Ben Bargwanna	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:34.9088	0:01.0664
13	10	Ashley Seward Motorsport	Lee Holdsworth	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	1:34.9191	0:01.0767
14	110	Team Soutar Motorsport	Zac Soutar	Honda Civic Type R	1:34.9297	0:01.0873
15	2	MPC Moutai Racing	Luke King	Audi RS 3	1:35.0163	0:01.1739
16	5	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Jordan Cox	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	1:35.1696	0:01.3272
17	9	Ashley Seward Motorsport	Jay Hanson	Alfa Romeo Giulietta	1:35.1945	0:01.3521
18	37	MPC Astrontech Racing	Chelsea Angelo	Volkswagen Golf GTI	1:35.4049	0:01.5625
19	14	Purple Sector / Southern Star	Lachlan Mineeff	Volkswagen Golf GTI	1:35.4169	0:01.5745
20	15	Michael Clemente Motorsport	Michael Clemente	Honda Civic Type R	1:35.4736	0:01.6312
21	130	HMO Customer Racing	Duvashen Padayachee	Hyundai i30N	1:35.5746	0:01.7322
22	111	AH Racing	Michael King	Hyundai i30N	1:36.5765	0:02.7341