Matt Campbell is basically living the life of a rock star.
Jet-setting around the globe? Check. Driving a cool car? Check. Rubbing shoulders in the Formula 1 paddock? Check.
The 22-year-old packed his bags and moved to Europe earlier this year where he’ll undoubtedly stay for the foreseeable future as he carves a name for himself as one of the best racing talents to watch out for. Luckily for us, we bagged him while he’s still got enough free weekends to get himself back to sunny old Queensland.
Taking time out from his duties as a Porsche ‘junior’ factory driver, Matty has been tasked with the responsibility of keeping the no. 97 Red Bull Holden Racing Team Commodore in safe hands during the three upcoming endurance events. With his only prior Supercars experience having been during last year’s enduro season, there’s no lack of pressure on his shoulders, driving with a championship contender in Shane van Gisbergen. But rest assured this kid’s got a cool head on him.
READ MORE: The inspiration behind the retro liveries
“There’s always going to be a little bit of pressure there, but at the end of the day I’m there to do a specific job and just hand the car back in one piece,” Matty said. “I know my roles in the team and hopefully we can just have smooth sailing through the endurance races, but anything can happen. Hopefully we can have a good run, but we’ll just have to wait and see how we go.”
Fresh from victory at Monza last weekend, the Warwick native was feeling confident ahead of RBHRT’s pre-enduro test despite it only being his second time behind the wheel after he jetted over for the test day in June.
“We had a couple of tough rounds there in the middle of the year and that sort of hurt us a little bit, but then to bounce back and get another win later in the season is fantastic,” Matty continued. “Then coming over here, competing in the enduros, [the win] is a really good confidence booster to start off.
“Obviously this year, different car, different team and different driver, so everything’s new again, but I know the processes and everything like that and I know what’s expected of me. This year will hopefully be a lot smoother and I’ll just know what’s to come.”
As the reigning Supercars champion, it’s safe to think that SVG will be giving Matty plenty of tips to help him adjust to the Supercars style.
READ MORE: 10 things you didn’t know about Matty Campbell
“We’re just in testing phase still, but when we’re getting closer to Sandown I’m sure there’s going to be a couple more things and I’m going to have a lot of questions for Shane as well. I’m still pretty new to the Supercars thing and everything like that and we’ll just have to wait and see how we go.”
With the Sandown 500 just over a week away, it’s not long until Matty has his first taste of the RBHRT Commodore in race trim.
