Photo: TCR Australia

Dylan O’Keeffe to test latest specification Renault Mégane

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TCR Australia race winner Dylan O’Keeffe is to become one of the first drivers to sample the latest incarnation of the Renault Mégane RS TCR after flying to Europe for an outing with Vukovic Motorsport.

O’Keeffe, who will drive a Garry Rogers Motorsport-run Mégane in the Australian series when the delayed 2020 season kicks off, will spend time at Vukovic Motorsport’s base in Zurich before heading for the Salzburgring for a run in the updated car – which has yet to be homologated for competition.

The revised car includes upgrades to the engine, aerodynamics, suspension and transmission and is also lighter than the model is replaces, with GRM having helped with work on the chassis and suspension.

“It’s a great honour to be here at Vukovic Motorsport’s workshop in Switzerland and get the chance to test the new generation Mégane RS,” O’Keeffe said. “With all that is going on in the world, I thought my chances of doing something like this in 2020 was going to be slim, but when I found out that it was on and I could do it, it was really exciting and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

“I’ve never been to the Salzburgring circuit, so I’ve been doing some research and I can’t wait to get there and trial the new car.”

Milenko Vukovic, team boss of Vukovic Motorsport, said he was pleased to get O’Keeffe in the car for the test.

“I was very impressed with Dylan straight up when he had his first test of the Renault Mégane TCR car at Sandown back in February,” he said. “I received very good feedback on the car from Dylan after this test which impressed me a lot.

“As I’m the manufacturer of the Renault Mégane TCR car here in Switzerland, quality feedback is very important to me in development of the car. With the COVID-19 situation affecting motorsport in Australia, Dylan and I kept in contact a lot throughout this period. So the timing of him coming over to validate the new components and upgrades has worked out perfectly for us, that is why I have given him this opportunity.”