Vidau's unique challenge amid title fight
Max Vidau to debut new Carrera Cup team this weekend
Vidau in remote championship contention 150 points behind Zach Bates
Local hero top rookie in standings, 60 points ahead of Jarrod Hughes
Max Vidau will have a unique challenge for the finale of the 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
Vidau is the best of the rookies in the standings, currently sitting in fourth outright as the best of the outside contenders 150 points behind Zach Bates, and 60 ahead of second-best rookie Jarrod Hughes.
The Adelaide local will be making his first appearance in Supercars competition at his home event, having had two previous events in Carrera Cup, finishing third in last year's round.
Whilst the 23-year-old admits that the Super2 Series victory is a long shot, claiming top rookie honours would be incredibly rewarding for both he and Anderson Motorsport amid a strong rookie class.
“We’re still an outside chance at the title, a few things need to go wrong for the boys in front, but we can maximise our potential if we put our best foot forward,” Vidau said. “We saw what happened at Bathurst and we’ve seen it all year, there’s huge potential for carnage in this series. If it comes to fruition, we need to be in the right position to capitalise. It’s going to be all about hitting our markers and taking every opportunity that comes our way.
“Realistically our focus is on the rookie title, it’s an extremely strong group of drivers this year so it’s pretty cool to be on top at the moment and it will be a fantastic reward for the team if we can close it out.”
This weekend Vidau will also return to Carrera Cup on the other side of the pit wall, as he makes his debut as a team owner with the brand-new MVA Racing outfit.
MVA will enter one car in the Pro-Am class for former Aussie Racing Cars driver Anthony DiMauro, whilst Vidau will be juggling several roles as he will also engineer the #91 Porsche.
Whilst it will be the busiest weekend of the season for Vidau, he believes that being involved with a second category could potentially be less of a mental strain at what is forecast to be tough weekend physically with temperatures in the mid to high-30s on Saturday.
“Of course it’s cool to debut my own team in Carrera Cup, a category that’s really special to me. It’ll be a big weekend, I’m wearing lots of different hats, but we have plans in place for all circumstances," Vidau added. “Being a four-day event helps, the sessions are a bit more spread out than usual. It will certainly keep me busy, but it may be a good thing to get my mind on something different.
"Trying to hold that laser focus on a single objective for four days can take a lot mentally, so it might turn out to be one of those nice distractions and help keep my mind fresh for Super2."
On track action for the Dunlop Series begins on Thursday at the VAILO Adelaide 500 with two practice sessions. Tickets for the event are on sale now.
