Vidau's unheralded moment in Perth finale
Dunlop Series
23 May
Max Vidau claimed first race podium in Perth
Vidau passed Zach Bates for effective lead at final corner
Results backdated after Cameron McLeod crash
For a moment, Max Vidau was the effective race leader in Perth after a daring overtake — and despite missing out on the victory, the Super2 rookie was delighted to be showing his potential.
The former Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driver, who replaced Zak Best at Anderson Motorsport in 2024, was in the hunt in Sunday’s finale.
Pole-sitter Brad Vaughan led the race, but was carrying a five-second penalty for a false start. Vaughan led Zach Bates and Vidau after a red flag for Mason Kelly’s burning Mustang, with Vidau hounding Bates for the effective race lead.
After the restart, Vidau put a sensational overtake on Bates at the final corner. However, the attention was on the chaos behind them, with Cameron McLeod sent rolling through the air.
The resultant red flag sent the results back one lap, meaning Bates finished ahead of Vidau and McLeod, with Vaughan reclassified in fourth.
"I reckon the pass for the effective lead was one of my best ever,” Vidau said.
"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.”
It was Vidau’s first Super2 race podium in just his fourth start, with the #17 Tufflift Mustang starting a personal-best third on the grid for the race.
“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,” Vidau said.
“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. "
Vidau is now just 150 points behind leader Kai Allen heading to Townsville, where he won two of the three Carrera Cup races last year.
“Excited to take a Supercar to Townsville, I had a good run there last year,” he said.
"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."
