O’Keeffe claims second pole in thrilling Qualifying

Dylan O’Keeffe became the first driver to claim twice the pole position during TCR Australia’s inaugural season. O’Keeffe drove his Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce to set the fastest lap at the end of a thrilling Qualifying in the series’ finale at The Bend.
Four different drivers alternated on top of the time sheet during the 30-minute session, with Aaron Cameron the first to break the 1:57 wall with a provisional fastest lap of 1:56.6928 that was then improved by Will Brown’s 1:56.1805. In the final moments Tony D’Alberto jumped on top with a lap of 1:55.9738, but Brown responded with a 1:55.7022 and finally O’Keeffe settled the matter with his pole position time of 1:55.6206.
Only Cameron improved again before the chequered flag, but his 1:55.9765 was only good for the fourth position, making four different brands in the top four places.
With Brown having already secured the title, the fight for the second position is red hot; the two points for the pole meant that O’Keeffe has increased his margin over D’Alberto to ten points, while Cameron follows a further 19 points adrift.
It was not a good day for the French makes. James Moffat Renault Mégane RS stopped early on the track with a broken driveshaft, while Chris Pither qualified seventh in the sister car, but spun off in the attempt to go faster after posting the best time in Sector 1.  
After missing both Free Practice sessions on Friday, Aurélien Comte’s DG Sport Compétition Peugeot 308 continued to suffer from an electronic bug; it didn’t take part in the Qualifying nor it will start in today’s Race 1. The team keeps on working, hoping to run the car in tomorrow’s races.
Race 1 will follow at 12:45 local time (03:15 CET); live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.  

Qualifying
1. 1:55.6206 – Dylan O’Keeffe (Ashley Seward Motors., Alfa Romeo Giulietta)
2. 1:55.7022 – Will Brown (HMO Customer Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
3. 1:55.8574 – Tony D’Alberto (David Wall Racing, Honda Civic FK7)
4. 1:55.9765 – Aaron Cameron (Melbourne Performance, VW Golf GTI)
5. 1:56.0975 – Nathan Morcom (HMO Customer Racing, Hyundai i30 N)

Championship points
1. Brown 625 pts; 2. O’Keeffe 483 pts; 3. D’Alberto 473