MATT CAMPBELL SECURES FIRST EUROPEAN VICTORY

Matt Campbell scored his first European win – Photo: Supplied

Porsche Junior Matt Campbell has scored his first European win last weekend when joining Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland (Germany) for two races at Red Bull Ring.

The reigning Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion used the German Carrera Cup opportunity as a test run for the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, which next visits the Austrian circuit in early July, scoring first and third in the event’s two Porsche races.

Starting second on the grid of race one, Campbell fended off an early overtaking attempt by Frenchman Florian Latorre to initially retain second place behind Dutchman pole-sitter Larry Ten Voorde.

Matt Campbell taking the chequered flag at the Red Bull Ring – Photo: Supplied

Campbell then closed the gap to Ten Voorde and finally snatched the lead in lap three. At the front, Campbell proceeded to pull clear of the field until a collision in lap ten brought out the safety car and the field closed up. Campbell, however, kept his cool and, after the restart, gave Ten Voorde no chance to overtake.

“My first win in the Carrera Cup feels fantastic. Because of the late safety car phase my advantage suddenly disappeared, but I didn’t let it throw me off balance,” said Campbell after race one.

Campbell then started from pole position for race two, though he was not able to his defend his lead spot from fellow Porsche Junior Dennis Olsen, who made a catapult start and beat the 22-year-old Australian in the sprint to the first corner. Olsen proceeded to build a half-second gap, only to have his advantage erased by a safety car which was deployed after a collision between two midfielders. Olsen made the most of the restart to again pull clear of Campbell. The Norwegian junior driver kept a cool head after another safety car phase to ultimately bring home victory after 19 laps. After the start, Brit Nick Yelloly worked his way through the field from fifth on the grid to third place before catching Campbell and, on the penultimate lap, swept past Campbell on the inside of the hairpin for second, with Campbell finishing third.

“A win on Saturday and third place today – that’s great. In the mid-sector of the second race I wasn’t able to match the pace of the frontrunners but all in all it was an excellent weekend,” said Campbell.

Matt Campbell racing in German Carrera Cup – Photo: Supplied

Campbell will next be on track at the coming round of Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Austrian Red Bull Ring on June 30-July 02.

Results – Race 1:
1. Matt Campbell (AUS/Fach Auto Tech)
2. Larry Ten Voorde (NL/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
3. David Kolkmann (D/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
4. Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
5. Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing)
6. Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport)
7. Ryan Cullen (GB/raceunion Huber Racing)
8. Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing)
9. Henric Skoog (S/raceunion Huber Racing)
10. Philip Morin (S/Martinet by Alméras)

Results – Race 2:
1. Dennis Olsen (N/Konrad Motorsport)
2. Nick Yelloly (GB/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
3. Matt Campbell (AUS/Fach Auto Tech)
4. Larry Ten Voorde (NL/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
5. Dylan Pereira (L/Zele-Racing)
6. Christopher Zöchling (A/MRS GT-Racing)
7. David Kolkmann (D/Team Deutsche Post by Project 1)
8. Florian Latorre (F/Martinet by Alméras)
9. Zaid Ashkanani (KWT/MRS GT-Racing)
10. Michael Ammermüller (D/raceunion Huber Racing)

Missed the rest of the weekends International Motorsport? Catch up with our International Wrap. We’ll have more details about Matt Campbell’s European campaign in the next issue of Auto Action Magazine, on sale Thursday. In the mean time follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates.