Matt Campbell has steered Australia to gold at the 2022 FIA Motorsport Games.
Campbell’s win at Circuit Paul Ricard in France resulted in Australia finishing in sixth place on the medal tally.
The feat also saw Australia awarded the Asia Pacific Trophy.
The Grove Racing Team driver qualified his Porsche 911 GT3 R on the front row for Sunday’s main race.
A great launch from Campbell saw him overtake Belgian steerer Dries Vanthoor into Turn 1, going on to head the field for the duration of the 60-minute encounter.
He took the checkered flag 1.6s in the clear, ahead of Italian Mirko Bortolotti, with Vanthoor completing the podium.
“This is really cool, it’s nice to get the first gold and the first medal for Australia at the Motorsport Games,” the Porsche factory driver enthused.
“It definitely wasn’t easy, the pressure was on the entire way and we also had to manage a few issues towards the end.
“We made it last, but the gap was closing at the end. Luckily I didn’t make any mistakes and got the job done.
“It was a fantastic event, a fantastic day, we basically improved in every single session and then the race, we had the lead from turn one and were able to maintain, so a fantastic result.”
Team Australia Captain Stephen Grove heaped praise on Campbell for his golden drive.
“It’s unbelievable,” Grove exclaimed.
“I was so nervous, I was more nervous than if I had been in car.
“It’s just been a fantastic afternoon, he [Campbell] did well, led from the start to the finish, and it was an absolutely flawless drive.
“Overall, all the Australian competitors who came over here all put in an unbelievably good show and I’m proud of every single one of them and I’m proud of our nation to get sixth overall with 72-odd countries, it’s really great for Australia.”
In the other disciplines, Australia put in a strong showing across the weekend.
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series pilot Aaron Cameron ended the Touring Car medal race in 11th, as he struggled with straight line speed over the course of the competition.
Costa Toparis finished the Formula 4 feature race in 13th, up from 19th on the grid.
Esports competitor Philippa Boquida narrowly missed out on a medal, with a fourth-place finish.
Brenton and Stephen Grove, who completed their racing on Saturday in the GT Cup in the same car Campbell won gold, finished seventh after a strong charge through the field from the rear of the grid after being hit during the day’s earlier qualifying race.
Karting Sprint Junior driver Peter Bouzinelos and Karting Sprint Senior pilot Aiva Anagnostiadis did not finish their races, after being caught out in racing incidents.
The FIA Motorsport Games will next be held in 2024, with Valencia, Spain, to host the competition.
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