PORSCHE has risen to the top step of the Mount Panorama podium for the first time courtesy of a stellar final stint from young Australian star Matt Campbell in Sunday’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
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On a fresh set of tyres Campbell drove his Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R through the field during the final half hour of green flag racing.
Campbell’s winning move came with a clinical inside dive on Forrest’s Elbow past the #62 R-Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage being driven by Jake Dennis with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Campbell and teammates Dirk Werner and Dennis Olsen all recorded their first 12 Hour success, beating home Dennis, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Marvin Kirchhoefer for the top prize.
The #999 GruppeM Racing Mercedes Benz of Maximilian Buhk, Raffaele Marciello and Maximilian Goetz held on for third.
“In the last two years I’ve been so close, right up there in outright contention and down to the very last hour and missing out every time,” Campbell said.
“To finally get that Bathurst 12 Hour victory under my belt is amazing and I’m very happy to have my name on that trophy.”
Pit strategy played a crucial role in the Porsche team’s success.
The team were able to apply a full fresh set of tyres during their final pit stop while five of the other six cars on the lead lap opted to stay on their old tyres in order to stay towards the front of the pack.
The only other car to do so was the Mercedes-AMG Team Vodafone entry of Shane van Gisbergen, who rallied hard for a narrow fourth place finish behind the GruppeM Racing machine.
Campbell’s fresh tyres and determined mentality helped him climb up the standings inside the final half hour.
He made his first pass on BMW Team Schnitzer’s Chaz Mostert at The Chase.
When Tim Macrow’s KTM X-Bow stalled on Conrod Straight it brought out the final safety car of the day.
Not long after racing resumed Campbell passed Marciello before he made his big inside pass on Dennis at the Elbow.
“I knew we had good speed but it was time to knuckle down and give it everything I had,” Campbell said.
“The car was absolutely perfect towards the end. We struggled a bit during the middle of the race with the heat but it really came to us and that was our plan.
“I can’t thank these two [Werner and Olsen] enough. It’s so awesome to send off the old car like this in its last ever race and it’s awesome for Earl Bamber Motorsport. It’s his first race in GT3 and he did a fantastic job.”
Campbell’s move on Mostert, which forced the BMW driver off track, was investigated post-race by officials but the Porsche man was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Pedro Lamy, Paul Dalla Lana and Mathias Lauda were the winners of the Pro-Am Class.
Class B saw Ben Barker, Stephen and Brenton Grove make it a winning double for Porsche.
The KTM of Glen Wood, Justin McMillan, Dean Lillie and Elliott Barbour took out Class C while the invitational class victory went to the T2 Racing by Liajen Motorsport entry of Adam Hargraves, Daniel Jilesen and Steve Owen.