The former Carrera Cup Australia champion, now a factory pilot in the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad contesting both IMSA and World Endurance Championship events, leads Porsche’s return to the Mountain as they seek to claim a third victory in Australia’s International Endurance race.
Campbell will team with fellow 2024 winner Ayhancan Güven and 2024 Pro-Am winner Alessio Picariello aboard an Absolute Racing-entered Porsche 992 GT3R, in a powerhouse combination that heads to the race as an early favourite.
Meanwhile, The Bend and EMA Motorsport combine to field an entry in the Pro-Am class, to be driven by brothers Yasser and Sam Shahin, and factory Porsche professionals Morris Schuring and Laurin Heinrich.
It gives Porsche the chance to defend both the outright and class titles they claimed in 2024.
Both teams will field current-specification Porsche 911GT3R (992) entries in the race.
Chinese-based Absolute Racing returns to the Mountain for the first time in five years, the vastly successful Porsche team having last competed in 2020 where, with Campbell driving, they scored the Allan Simonsen Pole Award before going on to finish fourth outright.
Last year Campbell and Guven combined with Laurens Vanthoor to deliver Porsche their second Bathurst 12 Hour triumph, in a car fielded by Manthey EMA Racing.
It was the second Bathurst win for both Campbell and Porsche and the first for Turkish young-gun Güven, who became the first driver from his nation to win on the Mountain.
Campbell’s last six 12-Hour starts have delivered a pair of wins, two third places and a pair of fourths, plus the 2020 pole position award - making the factory Porsche ace from Warwick one of the most successful drivers in race history.
“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.”
The Absolute entry will come to Australia with an Aussie-themed livery, complete with a kangaroo on the side.
“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." Matt Campbell
Meanwhile, the Bend’s entry will sport a stunning livery in deference to the major backer of the South Australian Circuit, Shell V-Power.
The combination looks to be a key contender for the race with the two Pro drivers among the very best in Porsche’s GT3 machinery.
Both are former Carrera Cup winners while Shuring paired with Yasser Shahin to win the Le Mans 24 Hour LM GT3 class in the iconic around-the-clock race last year, the pair also finishing second in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Sam Shahin mixed a debut season in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup with his ongoing campaign in one-make Porsche racing domestically, where the South Australian is a former Pro-Am winner in Carrera Cup Australia.
Porsche have claimed two victories in the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour, first winning in 2019 and then again last year.
The brand also scored pole position in 2020 and has finished on the podium on seven occasions.
The Bathurst 12 Hour commences at Mount Panorama on Thursday, 30 January with the annual ‘Track to Town’ parade, where the full field will be driven from the circuit into the centre of Bathurst to meet and greet the fans.
On-track action commences on Friday with practice followed by Qualifying on Saturday and the race itself on Sunday, 2 February.
Australian audiences will be able to watch the race live on Channel 7 and Fox Sports, while a live stream through the official event website will allow international audiences to follow the action.
Porsche Motorsport Australia’s digital media channels, @porschemotorsportau on Facebook and Instagram, will also cover the action throughout the weekend.