Daytona winner Campbell gets Porsche Formula E practice outing in Misano

Campbell has been nominated by Porsche for the rookie-only practice session ahead of the Misano E-Prix on 12 April on the back of an impressive start to his 2024 campaign.

The Australian kicked off the new year with a victory in Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 963 LMDh in the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s blue-riband Daytona round, before following that up with another overall triumph in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

He also helped Porsche score a double podium in the Qatar 1812Km World Endurance Championship event, as the German manufacturer scored a historic 1-3 result in only its second year in the Hypercar class.

The FE practice outing in Italy will mark Campbell’s first appearance in a single-seater since he last took part in the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2013, before switching to sportscar championships with Porsche one-make series such as the Carrera Cup and the Supercup.

Apart from Campbell, two other drivers will get a chance to sample the Porsche 99X during the 2024 Formula E season.

Reigning DTM champion Thomas Preining, also a member of the factory Porsche roster like Campbell, and Formula 2 race winner Dennis Hauger will take the wheel of the 99X in the Berlin rookie test on 13 May.

The one-day test will follow the Berlin E-Prix double-header and will provide a major opportunity for newcomers to test a Gen3 car during a race weekend.

Preining, whose stock has risen since he steered Porsche to a triple title success in the DTM with Manthey EMA last year, previously tested a Gen2 car at Marrakesh in March 2020.

For Hauger, however, who kicked off his third season in F2 in Bahrain last month, it would be a first run in an FE car.

Porsche currently leads the drivers’ championship with Pascal Wehrlein following last weekend’s Tokyo E-Prix, while it is also fighting neck-to-neck with Jaguar in the teams’ standings as well as the new manufacturers' trophy.

However, Wehrlein’s team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa languishes in 11th place after a nightmare start to the season, leading to questions about his future.