Campbell, Guven to defend Bathurst 12 Hour victory in Absolute Racing Porsche

Porsche aces Matt Campbell and Ayhancan Guven will defend their Bathurst 12 Hour victory from last year in next month’s edition of Australia’s prestigious endurance race.

Campbell and Guven won the first round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge in 2024 alongside Laurens Vanthoor in a Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Manthey EMA, but will switch to Absolute Racing and team up with Alessio Picariello for this year’s event on 2 February.

It marks the Shanghai-based outfit’s first Bathurst appearance since 2020, when Campbell took pole before finishing fourth in the race with Mathieu Jaminet and Patrick Pilet.

Belgian racer Picariello won the Pro-Am class on his event debut last year alongside Harry King and Yasser Shahin, while Campbell also conquered Bathurst in 2019 with Earl Bamber Motorsport.

A third victory for the Australian, who returns to Porsche Penske Motorsport’s IMSA SportsCar Championship roster this year after spending 2024 in the World Endurance Championship, would put him level with Jules Gounon as the most successful driver in the GT3 era of the event.

Absolute Racing team principal Fabien Fior said he had “unfinished business at Mount Panorama” after just missing out on the podium in 2020.

“We have a strong car and line-up, so our sights are set high!” added Fior, whose entry is fielded in partnership with Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific.

Race winner #912 Manthey Racing / EMA Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2): Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Güven, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo by: Gruppe C Photography

The full entry list has yet to be announced, although several high-profile local drivers have been confirmed for the event.

Reigning Supercars champion Will Brown will join two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Chaz Mostert and Ferrari factory driver Daniel Serra in one of two Ferrari 296 GT3s entered by Arise Racing, which will also have a presence in the Pro-Am class.

Arise won the GT World Challenge Australia crown last year with Mostert and Liam Talbot.

Tickford Ford Supercars racers Cam Waters and Thomas Randle will meanwhile team up with seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Craig Lowndes, who also has two Bathurst 12 wins to his name, in an unchanged line-up from last year’s event in the Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes which is supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

International heavy-hitters that have confirmed entries but not drivers include BMW factory squad WRT, winners with Audi in 2018, and the Gruppe M Mercedes outfit that took pole in 2023.

Manthey EMA will again be present with a Pro-Am line-up featuring the returning Shahin, who won the LMGT3 class at the Le Mans 24 Hours last year, and his brother Sam.