Campbell content despite missing out by 0.9s

Second in the Bathurst 12 Hour proved “not a bad day” for Matt Campbell, who was just 0.9s from victory.

2019 winner Campbell pushed Jules Gounon all the way in the final 40 minutes.

It came after Gounon and Maro Engel collided at The Chase in the final hour, with Engel penalised.

Campbell pushed his #912 Manthey EMA Porsche to the rear of Gounon’s #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG.

Gounon brought it home, with a charging Engel recovering from a drive-through penalty to finish third, just 1.4s down.

Aussie Campbell — who shared with Thomas Preining and Mathieu Jaminet — said the Mercedes was simply too quick.

The Manthey EMA crew did long runs during the race, with their drivers saving fuel to gain during the pit sequences.

Campbell pushed the limit, and even brushed the wall at Sulman Park in the closing minutes.

“In the end I tried my very best and a little bit too much at times,” Campbell said.

“They were just too fast today, unfortunately. I was able to close the gap, but I wasn’t able to get close enough in the end.

"I think we maximised what we had in the performance of our car.

"As a team, Thomas and Mathieu, I think we did a fantastic job all day with no mistakes and also by the team on strategy.

"We were trying our best in the middle part of the day with some fuel saving and whatnot and trying to make up some time in the pits, which was working well for us.

"But in the end we finished second, so not a bad day.”

SunEnergy1’s cunning strategy got Gounon track position, but the #75 wasn’t fitted with tyres.

Engel and Campbell were, but Gounon hung on to take win No. 3.

Campbell was managing the tyres for bursts towards the end, but it wasn’t enough.

“We knew we didn’t have anywhere near the pace,” the Queenslander said.

“We were just trying to manage and save the tyre because we could see them [Gounon and Engel] fighting.

“Once they came together, we pushed. But to be honest, if I was pushing from the beginning, I probably would have only been within nine seconds and that still wouldn’t have been enough.

"Even if we did push, we still wouldn’t have had a chance.

“As soon as we got behind the Mercedes, we couldn’t go any faster."