Porsche Carrera Cup star Matt Campbell has enjoyed his maiden V8 Supercars laps at today’s Winton test, driving for Nissan Motorsport.
Campbell, who turned 21 on Sunday, completed multiple runs in the Carsales Altima of team owner Todd Kelly.
The test comes as Campbell prepares for a second Carrera Cup season with McElrea Racing, with which he starred on debut last year.
“We’ve always had a passion for giving young kids a go,” Kelly told Speedcafe.com.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t cost us a great deal to give someone 10 or 20 laps at a test day.
“There’s a few guys that we’ll test this year, including from the Jayco Formula 4 Championship.
“Matt’s proven to be a bit of a standout so we thought we’d stick him in the car to see how he gets his head around it.
“We’ve been really impressed. He’s done a bloody good job and hasn’t put a foot wrong all day.”
Nissan’s evaluation of Campbell comes while the squad continues to work on its Pirtek Enduro Cup line-up.
Dean Fiore, who has spent time in Michael Caruso’s car today, is the only co-driver currently confirmed for the four-car outfit.
“It wasn’t our intention or plan, it was just a chance to see where he’s at,” said Kelly when asked of using Campbell in the enduros.
“But he’s certainly doing all the right things to be in a car in the very near future, if not now.
“We’ve still got a lot of options for the enduros but we haven’t locked it in.
“We’re still working with Nissan on all of that at the moment.”