Rookie Vidau finding his feet in Supercar

Max Vidau is finding his feet in Supercar machinery, with the Anderson Motorsport recruit the latest driver to make the switch from Porsches.

Vidau, the 2017 Australian Formula Ford champion, ended his maiden Dunlop Series weekend in ninth overall.

The 22-year-old, who replaced Zak Best at the Anderson squad, finished 10th and seventh at the Thrifty Bathurst 500.

Vidau moved onto the Porsche ladder, initially in Michelin Sprint Challenge and then Carrera Cup, after winning the Formula Ford title.

He was a Carrera Cup front-runner in 2023 before opting to chase Supercars, following in the footsteps of Cameron Hill, Matt Payne and, more recently, Ryan Wood.

Walkinshaw Andretti United rookie Wood was the most prolific Super2 driver in 2023, winning more races and rounds than any other driver.

With a race weekend now under his belt, Vidau is confident he can unlock even more speed at the next round in Perth, with a test day scheduled before the May 17-19 round.

“Coming in to the weekend after the pre-season test, I was interested to see where we stood, and now I’m a lot more comfortable with where everything is at,” Vidau said.

“We showed pace in every session and our second race could have been much different, if not for the power steering problem in qualifying.

"In clean air we were as fast as anyone, but obviously that’s hard to come by deep in the pack. We were looking after the tyre and just starting to come on strong when the Safety Car was called.

“It was good to make some moves in both races and know we can move forward when it’s required.”

Vidau didn’t have it all his own way in Bathurst, being classified 10th despite being caught up in the Race 1 crash, before suffering a power steering failure in qualifying for Race 2.

The rising star started down in 12th for the finale, but sliced through the field and avoided more carnage to finish seventh.

Critically, Vidau feels there is plenty left to make the #17 Mustang more to his liking, and is determined to improve his race starts to ensure he stays away from the mid-pack chaos.

“In Porsche racing, the field is super aggressive and the ruling for overtaking is very clean, so I was able apply that in the Supercar and just pounce on any mistakes in front,” Vidau said.

“We’ll do another test day before Perth, which I’m really excited for. The team have got some changes that will make the car more to my liking, and work on our race starts a bit as well. It’s a big adjustment from the Porsche method, launching these cars.

“I’ve got a lot of driver coaching and engineering to do in New Zealand, and in Sprint Challenge as well to keep me busy."