Matt Campbell secures Kelly Grove Racing seat for Bathurst

Matt Campbell will compete in the season-ending Bathurst 1000 after being called up to the Kelly Grove Racing team.

Campbell will team up with Andre Heimgartner for what will be his third attempt at the event, having previously taken a best finish of fourth alongside Shane van Gisbergen in a Triple Eight-run Holden back in 2017. His debut came a year earlier alongside Todd Kelly, with the duo failing to finish.

The 26-year-old will take the place of Earl Bamber, who had been scheduled to partner Heimgartner before the revisions made to the Supercars calendar left him with a clashing commitment elsewhere.

“Once it was confirmed Earl couldn’t make the event due to the conflict in his racing schedule, it was vital that we found somebody of a very high calibre to replace him, and we know we have that in Matt Campbell,” team co-owner Stephen Grove said. “We’re all very excited to have him come back and race with us at the Bathurst 1000.

“It’s extremely disappointing [for Bamber] because I know how good Earl is having raced with him before and having seen him race first-hand. There’s no question that we’ll work with Earl to get him back next year hopefully and beyond, He’s an extremely good talent. We’ll definitely be bringing him back if all the dates align for 2022, no question.”