Matt Campbell “Mr 2024" so far talks Imola & Hypercar
No.5 Porsche driver Matt Campbell was one of the stars of the opening 2024 WEC round at Qatar, taking pole position and then playing his part in achieving a fighting third place in the race.
The Australian partners Frederic Makowiecki and Michael Christensen this season in the Porsche Penske squad and is determined to continue his incredible start to 2024, which has also seen him win the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Bathurst 12 Hours (for a third time)!
Campbell spoke to fiawec.com about the weekend ahead at Imola and also about beginning a so far fruitful relationship with Makowiecki and Christensen in the Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar.
The Challenge of Imola
The 6 Hours of Imola this Sunday is set to be an intense challenge of traffic management and finding the right rhythm through the traffic.
The expectation is that the GT3 cars could be as quick as some of the Hypercars at certain points of the track as the use the kerbs more to their advantage. This will prove to be an integral challenge for both classes as they start to merge as one throughout the race.
“It's definitely going to be a challenge, especially if there's going to be some weather which is looking like there could be a possibility of,” said Campbell.
“We've come from one extreme at Qatar, with a very high speed and extremely smooth track with lots of run off, to now a much more ‘old school style circuit’ with less run off in places and a little bit narrow.
“I think we could see a few more safety cars and yellows, and so forth, so I think it will be still quite difficult for us as drivers, in terms of risk management and on when to make your moves so you don't lose too much track position, or track time.”
Campbell is a good person to ask about traffic management as it was one of the key attributes in his locker that he used to such superb effect in Qatar. But he also sees it from the other side of the fence after racing in GT3 and prior to that LMGTE machinery for several years, tasting success with Proton Competition in WEC between 2018 and 2021, taking three class wins.
“The GT3 cars in some of the sections at Imola, with a lot of kerbs, will be just as fast if not faster than us in Hypercar, because obviously, they can be a lot more aggressive,” reckons Campbell.
“So, the risk management I think will be another important factor, same as Qatar, but obviously just in a slightly different fashion.
“It will be challenging; no doubt and I think it will be a very busy time for us drivers on track with the amount of cars.”
Gelling with Michael and Frederic
Campbell has integrated in to the Hypercar ranks seamlessly. He has already forged a strong and trusting relationship with former Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki.
Hr believes that this has been achieved through a combination of mutual professional respect, experience and prior knowledge of each other.
“That transition so far has been extremely smooth, as I sort of expected it to be,” he said.
“Obviously, one part of it is that I've got a lot of work experience from the past years with Porsches, so the transition and coming back to the WEC has been fine.
“The other side of things is that I've known Michael and Fred for quite a number of years, from the Porsche ranks, had driven with Fred before too. I've always gotten along extremely well with them, even though we're all quite different in personalities when it comes to some topics.
“I think that is really a positive too, because it all sort of levels itself out in our approach and how we go about things in racing. So far it's been working really, really well. I'm happy with the team environment we're in and obviously, you've got to be happy and comfortable with your teammates in such a sport as endurance racing.
“It's been quite relaxed and we're all getting along extremely well, so it makes life a lot more enjoyable.”
