DEAN Campbell will make his Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes debut next week aboard the car normally piloted by his Bathurst 6 Hour-winning teammate Cameron Crick.
With Crick spearheading Matt Stone Racing’s wildcard in the Great Race, the 27-year-old had long planned to sit out the SuperUtes action on the same Mount Panorama weekend.
Initially it was Aussie Racing Cars regular Cody McKay who had been in line to sub in aboard the EFS-backed Isuzu D-Max, only for another twist in the tale courtesy of McKay and his wife expecting an early arrival of their first child.
So, next in the queue was Campbell, whose business DA Campbell Transport services EFS’ freight needs.
“Clayton (Mortensen, EFS general manager) actually said to me, ‘what about Dean?’ I didn’t actually know if Dean wanted to put his hat in the ring at such short notice… it all happened pretty quick!” Crick told V8 Sleuth.
Dean Campbell and Cameron Crick on the 6 Hour podium. Pic: Supplied/Speed Shots Photography
Campbell is still relatively new to racing but has enjoyed a whirlwind 12 months alongside Crick, the pair winning the 2024 Australian Production Cars title, then pulling off an epic victory in this year’s Bathurst 6 Hour, and currently running second in GT4 Pro-Am.
For Bathurst resident Campbell, the V8 SuperUtes outing will mark his first racing laps around the Mountain since that Easter triumph.
He got his first taste of the Isuzu today at Lakeside.
“It was pretty good. It went better than I thought it was going to,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“Don’t get me wrong, they’re a handful, but I think a lot of the production car stuff that we’ve done has probably helped, because they’re a lot of power and not a lot of grip.
“So I guess it was something I used to in a roundabout kind of a way.
“There’s a little bit more manhandling than maybe the BMW (production car) and obviously a lot more going on with the blipping and whatnot. But I found it pretty good.”