The Dunlop Super2 Series will commence its season at Mount Panorama for just the second time in series history, with Max Vidau’s first laps in the category set to be around one of the world’s toughest circuits.
Vidau however is unfazed by the task of starting his Supercar career in Bathurst, with the 22-year-old buoyed by past results and experience around the famous track. Across his time in one-make Porsche racing, Vidau has already garnered four visits to the Mountain – including second for the round in 2022.
Stepping into the Anderson Motorsport #17, Vidau’s maiden outing in the category will carry primary backing from Tyrepower, who have backed Vidau through the past two seasons in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup. Long-time supporters Exedy are also on board, along with Hi-Tech Oils and MV Automatics.
In the lead up to round one, Vidau completed a two-day test at Winton Motor Raceway. The successful test allowed Vidau to experience a complete race run and adjust to the nuances of racing a Supercar. One such adjustment is the return to heel-and-toe, which Vidau last employed at 16 years old in Australian Formula Ford – a season that Vidau dominated to be crowned Champion.
The switch to right hand drive is another change for Vidau, and potentially the biggest challenge of his debut, with years of muscle memory on car positioning in the left-hand drive Porsche against the walls in need of a re-wiring for the Supercar.
Vidau will have two practice sessions to commence the weekend before a pair of 40-minute races across Saturday and Sunday, both preceded by their own qualifying session.
Round one for the 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series kicks off from February 23-25 at Mount Panorama, as part of the Thrifty Bathurst 500.
Quotes:
Max Vidau – #17, Anderson Motorsport
“At the end of the day it was either the mountain or a street circuit for my debut, and I’m confident starting at Bathurst with the laps I’ve turned around there in the past,” said Vidau.
“The Anderson Motorsport car was also extremely fast at Bathurst last year, Zak (Best) put it on pole with a massive number, so we should have a good package out of the gate. I’m just looking to get the season rolling and bank some solid points.
“There are some big adjustments to what I’ve done in the past. Over the top of the mountain the driving style is very different to the Porsche, you need a lot of braking to turn the Supercars. There’ll be some braking in new places, which I need to get used to and really build into getting the speed up across the top. The heel-and-toe is like riding a bike, you don’t really forget how to do it, but I’ll need to build the muscle memory back up and get used to using some of those muscles I haven’t used in a while.
“It’s an incredible field this season, there’s 20 drivers who should be able to go out and compete at the front, so I’m expecting it to be pretty aggressive up front. If I can compete inside the top five, I’ll be stoked,” concluded Vidau.