Matt Campbell Bio
Matt Campbell (born 17 February 1995) is an Australian racing driver who specializes in sports car and endurance racing. A Porsche factory driver, Campbell competes at the top levels of international GT and prototype competition, including the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. He currently drives the No. 5 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport in the WEC’s Hypercar class. Across his career, Campbell has built a reputation as a versatile and consistent performer, with major victories at Bathurst, Le Mans, and across the IMSA calendar.
Early Life and Background
Matt Campbell was born on 17 February 1995 in Warwick, Queensland, Australia. Motorsport was part of his family from the start, with both his grandfather Bill and his aunt Teresa having raced. His grandfather Bill also managed Morgan Park Raceway near Warwick for many years, giving Campbell a direct link to a local circuit from a young age. That family connection to the sport helped shape his early ambition to become a professional driver.
Campbell’s racing roots began in earnest when he was 14, when he acquired a Datsun 1200 coupe with the support of his mother and began racing it at club level. He later received formal driver coaching and stepped into single-seater competition through Synergy Motorsport, racing in the Queensland and Australian Formula Ford Series. The Formula Ford environment gave Campbell a strong technical foundation in race craft before he transitioned to Porsche one-make series and GT racing.
Path to NASCAR
Matt Campbell’s career has been built primarily in international sports car and GT racing rather than NASCAR. He progressed through Porsche’s Australian customer racing programs, won the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title in 2016 with McElrea Racing, and moved to Europe in 2017 to race in the Porsche Supercup, where he finished third overall. Because Campbell’s professional résumé is anchored in endurance and GT categories, there is no verified path to NASCAR stock car racing supported by the available sources.
Matt Campbell Career
Early Career (2012–2016)
Campbell’s early career was shaped by Porsche’s customer racing ladder in Australia. He won the Queensland Formula Ford title in 2012 before stepping into Porsche machinery, dominating the B class of the 2014 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia. In 2015, he moved up to the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and finished third overall, demonstrating immediate pace against more experienced competitors.
The following season, 2016, marked his first major championship. Driving for McElrea Racing, Campbell won the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title and began to attract attention from Porsche’s factory and junior driver programs. That same year, he made his Repco Supercars Championship debut with Nissan Motorsport, co-driving with Todd Kelly in the Pirtek Enduro Cup, gaining valuable exposure to Australia’s top touring car category.
European Move and Endurance Breakthrough (2017–2019)
In 2017, Campbell relocated to Germany to race in the Porsche Supercup with Fach Auto Tech, finishing third overall and cementing his reputation as a rising Porsche talent. The performance opened the door to a full FIA World Endurance Championship campaign in 2018 with Dempsey-Proton Racing in the LMGTE Am class, sharing a Porsche 911 RSR with Christian Ried and Julien Andlauer. Campbell’s standout moment came at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he, Ried, and Andlauer won the LMGTE Am class. The same trio also won the 6 Hours of Silverstone, helping the team win five of the eight rounds before a post-season software-related points penalty dropped Campbell and Andlauer to second in the final standings.
Beyond the WEC, Campbell expanded his GT resume in 2019, racing for Rowe Racing in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and for Wright Motorsports in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America, scoring top-five results in both. The 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour became his most dramatic result, charging through the field in the final hour to win overall with Earl Bamber Motorsport in a Porsche 911 GT3 R.
IMSA Success and WEC Hypercar Era (2020–Present)
Campbell continued to balance WEC and IMSA commitments through 2020 and 2021, including a runner-up finish in the Intercontinental GT Challenge with Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet, a comeback victory in the 2021 Paul Ricard 1000km with GPX Racing, and three class wins alongside Cooper Mac尼尔 in the IMSA GTLM class. In 2022, he partnered with Jaminet at Pfaff Motorsports and dominated the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class, winning five of ten races to claim the championship.
As Porsche’s factory GTP program came online, Campbell transitioned to prototype racing with Porsche Penske Motorsport in the WEC Hypercar class, driving the Porsche 963. He has since become a regular front-runner in the world’s premier endurance series, balancing his WEC duties with selected IMSA events and high-profile GT races.
Driving Style and Strengths
Campbell is recognized for his smooth, consistent pace and his ability to manage long stints, traits that suit modern endurance racing with hybrid prototypes and multi-class traffic. He reads race strategy well, conserves tires and fuel effectively, and has shown a knack for closing out close finishes, as seen in his late-race charge at the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour and his run of five wins in the 2022 IMSA GTD Pro season.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments include the 2018 LMGTE Am victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2019 and 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour overall wins, and the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Pro title. He has also recorded competitive finishes in the Bathurst 1000 with Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2017, his best result in that event to date.
Matt Campbell Career Wins
Matt Campbell’s career is anchored by major victories across Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the Bathurst 12 Hour. His wins span GT3, GTD, and prototype machinery, reflecting a driver equally comfortable in customer Porsche programs and at the factory level.
IMSA and WEC Highlights
Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet dominated the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Pro class with Pfaff Motorsports, winning five races to secure the title. In the WEC, his LMGTE Am class win at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans with Christian Ried and Julien Andlauer, alongside their 6 Hours of Silverstone victory, headline his endurance résumé. He has since added multiple class wins and podiums with Porsche Penske Motorsport in the Hypercar era.
Other Wins and Performances
Campbell won the 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title with McElrea Racing, was third in the 2017 Porsche Supercup with Fach Auto Tech, and won the 2019 and 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour overall, driving for Earl Bamber Motorsport and Manthey Racing respectively. He also claimed a victory in the 2021 Paul Ricard 1000km with GPX Racing.
Matt Campbell Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Campbell comes from a family with deep ties to Australian motorsport. His grandfather Bill and his aunt Teresa both raced, and Bill managed Morgan Park Raceway near Warwick for many years until his passing in 2015. That direct family involvement in both competition and circuit management helped shape Campbell’s path into the sport.
Personal Life
Campbell relocated from Australia to Germany in 2017 to pursue Porsche’s European and factory programs, and he continues to be based in Europe while racing internationally. Public details about his personal relationships are not widely documented in available sources.
2025 Season Performance
Matt Campbell’s 2025 season centers on his continued role as a Porsche Penske Motorsport driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class, piloting the No. 5 Porsche 963. After a competitive Hypercar debut campaign, he enters 2025 with established pace and a strong working relationship with the PPM engineering group, with the team’s priority firmly on chasing overall race wins and the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships.
Beyond the WEC, Campbell’s 2025 calendar includes selected IMSA SportsCar Championship rounds with the factory Porsche program, where the shared GTP technical package continues to evolve. His experience across the 963’s early development phase gives him a valuable voice in setup and tire-management decisions, particularly on endurance-focused circuits.
With Bathurst 12 Hour victories in 2019 and 2024 already on his résumé, Campbell remains a benchmark Porsche factory driver entering 2025. Expectations are centered on consistent podium contention in WEC Hypercar, strong results in IMSA, and further cementing his reputation as one of the leading Australian endurance drivers of his generation.
