Dylan O’Keeffe is expecting tyre management to be a decisive factor in this weekend’s third round of the Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia championship at Phillip Island.

The race format for the weekend will see the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars competing in a pair of 25 lap, 50-minute races – the longest single-driver races in the category’s history.

“Because this year’s cars are more powerful that last year, tyre management is already more of an issue, and Phillip Island is a track that is punishing on tyres,” O’Keeffe said.

“It’s going to be critical to be smooth, and to avoid sliding the car or locking brakes.

“I definitely think we’ll see a situation where people will push too hard too early, run out of tyres at the end and fall backwards through the field.”

O’Keeffe is currently fourth in the Carrera Cup standings after a strong start to the season, highlighted by a second-place finish in his most recent race. But the 20-year-old is not feeling over-confident.

“We’ve tested at Phillip Island, but it’s not really an advantage because so have most others, he said.

“We were comfortable with the package we had on the test day but it could mean nothing, because Phillip Island is a track where the conditions change very quickly.”