O'Keeffe's fastest time in Practice 1 went some way towards resetting his title challenge after a tough round at The Bend Motorsport Park, lapping his Alfa Romeo Giulietta in 1m14.0776, 0.4 seconds ahead of overall series leader Will Brown and French driver Jean Karl Vernay.
“It’s a fantastic opening day for us at Queensland Raceway," O'Keeffe said. "It has rolled out of the truck perfectly.
“We are still trying to make changes to the car because you should never stand still, otherwise, everyone will catch up to you."
O'Keeffe had to settle for second in Practice 2, finishing behind John Martin in his Civic Type R. Martin's lap of 1m13.920s unfolded despite overcoming tail-end slides.
“We had a few issues in the first practice session but the boys worked really hard to fix them up for session two. It ended up being a pretty good day,” said Martin.
“We’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see where we are. We’ve been in the top five for practice for most of the year, but Tailem Bend was really good with the victory.
“Things are starting to click and steps are going in the right direction for our Hondas.”
French driver Vernay said his first hit-out in TCR Australia was a bumpy ride.
“It was a good start. Obviously this level is very high. There are some top guns of the V8 Supercars here, so I came here with a lot of respect,” said Vernay.
“I had to learn the track. There’s not many corners to this track, but it is pretty difficult and bumpy and technical. There’s long corners, heavy braking, kerbs you can’t touch and kerbs you have to avoid. It’s not that easy and you need experience, but my team and engineer are making progress, so now the things is to get ready for tomorrow.”
Catch the Round 4 action from Queensland Raceway LIVE, FREE & in HD, Race 1: Sat 2 Aug 2pm AEST, Races 2 & 3: Sun 3 Aug 1pm AEST on SBS or live stream via SBS Sport / SBS OnDemand here.
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And Races 2 & 3:
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