Campbell coming back to defend 12 Hour crown
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 10 January 2025
Aussie endurance ace Matt Campbell will be back home determined to defend his Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour title in a Porsche.
Campbell won last year’s race for Manthey/EMA Motorsport, but has returned to a familiar home for 2025 where he will race for the same brand, but in different colours.
He returns to Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer team, Absolute Racing, which has not been at Mount Panorama for five years.
Its last visit was in 2020 where Campbell took pole position and just missed out on a podium finishing fourth.
The livery Matt Campbell will steer at Bathurst for Absolute Racing.
He will also have Turkish driver Ayhancan Güven by his side, who also stood on the top step last year.
Completing the line up is Belgian Alessio Picariello, who took Pro-Am honours in 2024.
After winning the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour, Campbell spent the rest of the year steering the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA.
He is looking forward to returning to familiar surroundings in more ways than one.
“It’s great to be reuniting with Absolute Racing as we secured Porsche’s first ever Bathurst pole position when we last worked together in 2020,” Campbell said.
“After the success in 2024, when I won the race, we’ll be aiming to replicate this alongside Ayhancan and Alessio.
“It’s my home event at my favourite track in the world, so I can’t wait to start the year off in Australia.”
Absolute Racing Team Principal Fabien Fior said the squad has “unfinished business” at the Mountain.
Matt Campbell has been representing Porsche Penske Motorsport on the world stage.
“We’re thrilled to be returning to the Bathurst 12 Hour, and to do so in partnership with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific makes it even more special,” he said.
“There’s unfinished business at Mount Panorama for us as in 2020, we took pole with Matt, but unfortunately finished just off the podium.
“We’re also excited to welcome a second Bathurst 12 Hour winner to the squad in Ayhancan Güven, along with our long-term driver Alessio Picariello, a class winner at this iconic event.
“We have a strong car and line-up, so our sights are set high!”
Main image: Peter Norton Epic Sports Photography
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