Bathurst 6 Hour gave O’Keeffe ‘Nurburgring vibes’

Dylan O’Keeffe has spoken glowingly of his maiden production car racing experience, after taking a class victory at the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour on Sunday.

O’Keeffe teamed up with Mike Sheargold and Ollie Shannon in a GWR Australia-prepared RAM Motorsport Mercedes A45 AMG aboard which they conquered Class A1 and were fourth outright.

In fact, the #45 entry was one of just four cars to finish on the lead lap, and the only non-Class X competitor to do so.

“Mike and Ollie were both awesome to work with, and we all knew our role as drivers,” O’Keeffe reflected.

“The GWR boys did a great job on the strategy and the car was super reliable.

“It was certainly different racing in such a huge field, and it keeps you occupied passing all the slower cars – it gave me Nurburgring vibes!

“It was the first time I had raced a production car, so there was some management required with nursing brakes and tyres, but the Mercedes was consistently strong all day.”

O’Keeffe also enjoyed a fine weekend in Round 3 of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia, rising from seventh to third in the standings by the end of the Mount Panorama event.

He now has his eyes on the prize, sitting just 42 points off series leader Tony D’Alberto with four rounds still remaining.

“We did really well and scored good points – the car was consistent, but we still have work to do in a few areas,” he said.

“Sydney Motorsport Park is the next round, it’s one of my favourite tracks so we’ll go well there and keep building on the championship – there’s no reason we can’t win it.”

Round 4 of TCR Australia will be held across May 27-29.