Max Vidau has put together an exceptional fighting performance to earn his first podium in the Dunlop Series, falling agonisingly short of a maiden win after an ill-timed red flag in Race 2 in Perth.
Friday’s two practice sessions gave Vidau his first laps of Wanneroo Raceway. In both sessions, the Tufflift Mustang was hampered by a significant imbalance which generated understeer and left Vidau 16th on combined practice times.
As a result, Vidau was sent out in group one (reserved for the bottom 50 percent from practice) for both of the weekend’s qualifying sessions. Setting the second fastest time for his group in race one qualifying, a raft of overnight setup changes helped Vidau to secure 10th on the grid for Saturday’s race.
The 40-minute race ran with just one interruption from the Safety Car, in contrast to an interrupted opening round at Bathurst. The extended green flag running allowed Vidau to soak up a wealth of race pace information in just his third race aboard Supercar machinery, finishing in 11th.
Sunday’s qualifying saw the beginning of a strong turnaround for Vidau, who topped his group and secured a superb personal-best third on the grid for the second race of the weekend.
A fantastic start from Vidau maintained his position in third on the road, but effectively second after an early penalty for the leading car due to a jump start. While running within half a second of the effective race lead, a Safety Car and subsequent red flag neutralised the race just shy of the halfway mark.
The race returned to green flag racing with just five minutes remaining. Vidau restarted well and piled on the pressure, making the pass for the effective race win just moments before a second red flag was thrown. However, the regulations mean that with the results backdated a lap Vidau finished in second.
The runner-up finish is Vidau’s first podium in the Dunlop Series, coming in just his second round in the category. The weekend results earn sixth overall for the round and vault Vidau to fourth in the standings, and now the leading rookie in the series.
Round three of the 2024 Dunlop Series takes place at the NTI Townsville 500 from July 5-7, a venue where Vidau scored two Carrera Cup race wins in 2023.
Quotes:
Max Vidau
“I would say it’s good to finally be up the front this year, but we’re still only two rounds in so it’s pretty cool to be showing the potential we’ve got,” said Vidau.
“We were on the back foot after Friday, I was a bit worried, but as it turns out the car wasn’t where it needed to be and the boys made plenty of changes to get us in the ballpark on Saturday.
“By the time we got to Sunday, we had the pace we’d have liked to start the weekend with. I was just sitting there conserving the rear tyre, but unfortunately didn’t get to show that advantage at the end with the stoppages. I reckon the pass for the effective lead was one of my best ever, I was full commitment on the switchback into the braking zone.
“It didn’t pan out with the race getting sent back a lap, but to be a little bit disappointed with second place is pretty incredible.
“Excited to take a Supercar to Townsville, I had a good run there last year. It’ll be a bit different; the street circuits are where I’ll really feel the effect of sitting on the other side of the car, but I’ve started to get a pretty good handle on where the car’s at now,” concluded Vidau.
Championship Standings:
- Kai Allen – 534
- Aaron Cameron – 480
- Zach Bates – 456
- Max Vidau – 384
- Cameron McLeod – 375