O’Keeffe keen to make ‘best chance’ of winning Carrera Cup count

Dylan O’Keeffe believes his fifth Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship tilt will be his best yet.

O’Keeffe will race for GWR Australia in the one-make series with teammates Indiran Padayachee and Dean Cook for company.

The 2022 season was a fruitful one for O’Keeffe, who took GWR’s maiden pole position, race win and round podium.

These milestones helped him finish fourth in the standings, just 64 points behind champion Harri Jones.

It was O’Keeffe’s fourth Carrera Cup campaign, but first in four years having first competed into the category from 2016 to 2018 before going to Super2 and racing TCR nationally and globally.

Fresh from a solid comeback in 2022, O’Keeffe believes 2023 could be the year he launches a strong Carrera Cup championship assault.

“The 2023 season is my best chance of winning the Carrera Cup title,” he said.

“I thoroughly enjoyed returning to Carrera Cup last year and we were competitive all season.

“Qualifying was the strongest part of our game last year – I qualified in the top three at six of the eight rounds – but there are a few aspects of our race setup that need some work, such as our performance on cold tyres.

“Over the off season, we’ve identified a couple of areas where we need to improve, to be able to take the next step forward and contend for regular race victories.”

Dylan O’Keeffe and Dean Cook will race identical looking Porsches for GWR Australia in 2023. Image: Daniel Kalisz Photographer

O’Keeffe will enjoy the services of former Jordan Formula 1 Team crew member Rob Palermo as engineer.

Padayachee returns to Carrera Cup after a Porsche Sprint Challenge campaign last year, while Cook has been a Pro-Am frontrunner and missed out on the 2022 title on a count-back.

GWR Australia’s Garth Walden believes his trio of drivers will feature at the pointy end of the Pro and Pro-Am title fights.

“Dylan was in contention for the championship all the way through last season, with qualifying being a particular strength,” Walden said.

“Heading into this season, we’ve identified a couple of areas we need to work on, including cold tyre pace and our performance on higher-speed tracks such as Albert Park and Bathurst. 

“Dylan scored a lot of podiums last year, so we only need to find a few small improvements for him to regularly win races.

“Dean will be a great addition to our team environment – he has a fun personality out of the car, but he’s focused and competitive behind the wheel. 

“Last year he only just missed out on winning the championship, so he will be highly motivated to get the job done this season.

“Indiran scored best ever results in the Porsche Sprint Challenge last year and I think he will surprise some people in the Pro-Am Class and maybe even score a sneaky podium.”

The 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season kicks into gear at the Australian Grand Prix on March 30-April 2.

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