Vidau hunting wins at Sandown
The fifth round of the Porsche Carrera Cup is a big one for TekworkX Motorsport driver Max Vidau, as he looks to hang in on the title fight.
After Callum Hedge took a commanding sweep at The Bend to take the championship lead over Jackson Walls, Vidau lost some ground heading into the pivotal Sandown 500 round, much the same as in Darwin in Round 2, which has shaped a bit of an on-again/off-again season for the third placed #72 Tyrepower 911 cup car.
At The Bend Motorsport Park, the SA Porsche driver unfortunately didn’t set his home state alight in the August stoush, finishing eighth, fifth, and then fourteenth in the Race 3 finale after getting a 15 second penalty after he did fight to the front of the field.
Vidau took the win in the Carrera Cup opener at the AGP in dark and tricky conditions. Image: Mark Horsburgh
He has however taken three wins in a hugely competitive field, which culminated in a brilliant double in Townsville after qualifying on the front row, as well as a win in the opening round at the AGP.
“The car speed has been there at every round so far, but realistically we’ve had a couple of average rounds and we’re a bit further back than we’d like,” said Vidau.
With 180 points up for grabs at Sandown, Vidau is 171 points in arrears of Hedge in third place. And whilst he is realistically out of contention for the coveted Michelin Junior Drivers prize which is decided at Sandown, there’s still four rounds to claw back in the title fight.
“There’s some catching up to do but we’ll go out and fight for as many race wins as we can, and then see where it pans out in four rounds time.
Max Vidau was in top form at Townsville, adding two more wins to his 2023 campaign. Image: Mark Horsburgh
“We had awesome pace around Sandown last year, and it looks like that speed is still there based on the test we did. I’ve always been strong at Sandown as well, so I’m hoping to put on a bit of a show.
“If you’ve got a car that is strong leading on to the two straights, you can make the difference as a driver by ragging or over the kerbs for the rest of the lap. It drives a bit like a street circuit held together by a couple of drag strips.”
On-track action commences on Friday with two practice sessions and the two-part qualifying session, prior to the first two races on Saturday.
Sunday will conclude the fifth round with the third race, just prior to the start of the Sandown 500.
ENTRY LIST – Round 5 (Sandown Raceway)
| No. | Class | Car # | Sponsor | Driver | State | Colour | |
| 1 | Pro | 2 | Wall Racing / MOUTAI | Luke | King | NSW | Silver |
| 2 | Pro | 3 | Porsche Centre Melbourne / BWT | Fabian | Coulthard | QLD | Pink/White |
| 3 | Pro | 5 | TekworkX Motorsport | Thomas | Maxwell | VIC | Silver |
| 4 | Pro-Am | 7 | Miles Advisory Partners | Tim | Miles | NSW | Red/White |
| 5 | Pro | 8 | Hallmarc/ Team MPC | Nick | McBride | VIC | Pink/White |
| 6 | Pro-Am | 9 | Hallmarc/ Team MPC | Marc | Cini | VIC | Red |
| 7 | Pro | 11 | Objective Racing | Jackson | Walls | NSW | Black |
| 8 | Pro-Am | 13 | The Bend Motorsport Park | Sam | Shahin | SA | White/Blue/Red |
| 9 | Pro-Am | 14 | ID Land / Team MPC | Matthew | Belford | VIC | Black / Orange |
| 10 | Pro | 17 | Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM | Callum | Hedge | QLD | White / Black / Red |
| 11 | Pro-Am | 20 | Agas National | Adrian | Flack | QLD | Black/Blue/Orange |
| 12 | Pro-Am | 22 | Dexion / RAM Motorsport | Dean | Cook | VIC | Grey / Red |
| 13 | Pro-Am | 23 | TekworkX Motorsport | Daniel | Stutterd | VIC | Black / Yellow |
| 14 | Pro | 28 | Hall Finance / Insurance Solutions | Bayley | Hall | QLD | Silver / Green |
| 15 | Pro | 32 | Porsche Centre Melbourne / BWT | Courtney | Prince | VIC | Pink/White |
| 16 | Pro | 38 | Wall Racing | David | Wall | NSW | Black / Red |
| 17 | Pro | 72 | TekworkX Motorsport / Tyrepower | Max | Vidau | SA | Blue / Red / White |
| 18 | Pro | 74 | EMA Motorsport | Garnet | Patterson | SA | Blue |
| 19 | Pro | 76 | VCM Performance / HP Tuners | Christian | Pancione | VIC | Red |
| 20 | Pro-Am | 77 | Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts | Rodney | Jane | VIC | Yellow / Blue |
| 21 | Pro-Am | 86 | Wall Racing | Drew | Hall | NSW | Blue/White |
| 22 | Pro | 88 | Dexion / RAM Motorsport | Dylan | O’Keeffe | VIC | Grey / Red |
| 23 | Pro | 99 | Earl Bamber Motorsport | David | Russell | QLD | Yellow |
| 24 | Pro | 101 | Local Legends | Ryder | Quinn | QLD | Yellow |
| 25 | Pro | 777 | Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Bremtech | Simon | Fallon | VIC | Yellow / Blue |
| 26 | Pro | 992 | Ranbuild | Dale | Wood | VIC | Blue / White |
| 27 | Pro | 999 | Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Pitbox | Angelo | Mouzouris | VIC | Yellow / Blue |
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