Bathurst 1000 rookie Dylan O’Keeffe happy to be driving in a competitive car

Young gun Dylan O’Keeffe has praised the Kelly Racing squad as well as main driver Andre Heimgartner for giving him a fast and reliable car ahead of his debut in the Bathurst 1000 this weekend.

A proven talent in the inaugural TCR Australia Racing Series last year and a super-sub for Garry Rogers Motorsport during last year’s Gold Coast 600, O’Keeffe earned a call up to drive alongside Heimgartner for this year’s race and make his first start in the Great Race.

Though it was Heimgartner that posted the car’s best time of the day in final practice, O’Keeffe had the most laps behind the wheel to get accustomed to the Ford Mustang, making use of the the co-driver only session as well as taking part in the other two outings.

Without running in the Super2 support race this year, O’Keeffe knows he has to use the practice sessions to his advantage after going 17th fastest amongst the other co-drivers but with gradual improvements throughout the session.

“I’m very happy to be in such a good car for my Bathurst 1000 debut,” O’Keeffe said.

“I hadn’t driven a Supercar since the end of last year, so today was about getting comfortable again and building into it.

“I’m feeling comfortable and building into it – there is more time to be found tomorrow once I’ve reflected on it overnight.

“It’s early days yet, but Andre did a great job at the end of the final session and demonstrated the car has some good speed over one lap; for me, the priority is to focus on race pace and ensure I can punch out consistent times over a stint.”

O’Keeffe will be put into the car to start the day at 0940 for the co-driver only practice session while Heimgartner will likely use practice five at 1240 local time to set up the Mustang for qualifying, set to get underway at 1605.