Campbell Riding “Fantastic Start” to Year into Qatar, WEC Season

Photo: Porsche

Matt Campbell said he “couldn’t ask for anything better” in carrying wins in two iconic endurance races into his new tenure in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Porsche Penske Motorsport.

Campbell, who was part of Porsche Penske’s  winning lineup in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, has arrived in Qatar on the back of overall victory in last weekend’s Repco Bathurst 12 Hour with Manthey EMA.

“Obviously it’s been a fantastic start to the year,” he told Sportscar365. “I couldn’t ask for anything better coming to Qatar.

“I’m looking forward to being back in WEC. It’s something that isn’t new to me with four years of past experience in GTE Am with Proton Competition, so the transition should be nice and smooth.

“I’ve also got a year of experience with the car in IMSA. It’s just a matter of getting used to all the personnel, the engineers, the new driver lineup. But I don’t see too many problems coming across.”

The 29-year-old Australian has effectively swapped roles with Dane Cameron, with Campbell joining Michael Christensen and Fred Makowiecki in Penske’s No. 5 Porsche 963 for the globe-trotting world championship.

“I shared a car previously with Fred in IMSA in GTLM, and that’s made the transition easier, already understanding each other,” Campbell said.

“Michael I’ve known for a long time, funnily enough we never had the opportunity to drive together, but I know him well off-track and I would say we have similar personalities in many ways, which makes it easy to work with him.”

Campbell admitted that he “definitely” would have preferred to have stayed in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship full-time, but the chance to compete for overall honors in the 24 Hours of Le Mans provides extra incentive.

While Porsche Penske fielded three Hypercar entries at Circuit de la Sarthe last year, Campbell was placed as a reserve driver in the nine-man squad.

“I’ve got a really good opportunity in WEC and also to participate in Le Mans, racing for the overall win for the first time, so it’s a good spot to be in,” he said.

“I’m a little bit sad to be leaving the IMSA side. I’m excited for the opportunity for WEC, and hopefully with a year of experience under our belts we can be fighting for wins this year.”

Campbell downplayed that the level of momentum he’s carrying into the WEC season will help produce results for the team, which has yet to win on the world’s stage.

“In the end I have to do the best job possible and see where we are,” he said.

“Qatar is going to be a really tricky first round for everyone, a challenging circuit for both setup and tires. It will be interesting to see how that pans out but it’s the same for everyone.”

Rolex 24 Win “Very Special” For Porsche Penske, Porsche 963

Reflecting on last month’s historic victory at Daytona alongside Cameron, Felipe Nasr and Josef Newgarden, Campbell said it was “very special” to give the Porsche 963 its first major win in worldwide competition.

“It was the first ‘big’ win for the car worldwide, which is a major box ticked,” he said.

“We’ve been improving a lot on the IMSA side, especially from the middle of the season onwards, we were quite consistent in terms of performance in the second half of the year, and we really proved this at Daytona.

“We’re much better prepared than last year, which was a bit of a rush. But for sure we’re in a really good position in terms of preparation for the event, and it’s really paid off.”

Jamie Klein contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John