By Casey OÇonnor
Matt Campbell, who cut his motor racing teeth at the Morgan Park Raceway, steered Australia to gold at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games earlier this week.
Campbell’s win at Circuit Paul Ricard in France resulted in Australia finishing in sixth place on the medal tally.
The win also ensured Australia was awarded the Asia Pacific Trophy.
“This is really cool, it’s nice to get the first gold and the first medal for Australia at the Motorsport Games,” the Porsche Factory Driver said after the win.
“It definitely wasn’t easy; the pressure was on the entire way and we also had to manage a few issues towards the end.
“We made it last, but the gap was closing at the end. “I didn’t make any mistakes and got the job done.
“It was a fantastic event, a fantastic day, we basically improved in every single session and then the race, we had the lead from turn one and were able to maintain, so a fantastic result.”
The Grove Racing Team driver qualified his Porsche 911 GT3 R on the front row in Sunday’s main race.
An excellent start allowed Campbell to him Belgian driver Dries Vanthoor as they went into the first turn. Campbell led the field for remainder of the 60-minute encounter.
When Campbell crossed for the checkered flag, he was 1.6s clear of Italian Mirko Bortolotti, and Vanthoor.
The win caps off a remarkable year for the Warwick-born driver, who claimed the GTD Pro class title in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Team Australia Captain Stephen Grove heaped praise on Campbell for his golden drive. “It’s just been a fantastic afternoon, he [Campbell] did well leading from the start to finish. It was a flawless drive”.
