Earl Bamber

Earl Bamber

Bamber (centre) on the podium following the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans
Nationality New Zealander
Born Earl Anderson Bamber
(1990-07-09) 9 July 1990
Whanganui, New Zealand
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years 2015-2016
Teams Porsche Team
Best finish 1st (2015)
Class wins 1 (2015)
United SportsCar Championship career
Debut season 2014
Teams Porsche North America
Car no. 911, 912 (2014–2016)
Starts GT Le Mans: 12 (7 podiums), GT Daytona: 2 (0 podium)
Wins 0
Poles 1
Fastest laps 0
Best finish 2nd (GTLM) at the 2014 Petit Le Mans, 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, Continental Tire Road Race Showcase and Oak Tree Grand Prix in 2015
Porsche Supercup career
Debut season 2014
Teams FACH Auto Tech
Car no. 19 (2014)
Starts 13 (8 Podiums)
Wins 2
Poles 3
Fastest laps 3
Best finish 1st in 2014
Championship titles
2014 Porsche Supercup Drivers Championship
Awards
2014 Porsche Supercup Rookie Classification
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia career
Debut season 2013
Teams Nexus Racing (2013), LKM Racing (2014)
Car no. 7 (2013), 1 (2014)
Starts 22 (21 Podiums)
Wins 14
Poles 11
Fastest laps 11
Best finish 1st in 2013, 2014
Championship titles
2013, 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Drivers Championship
Previous series
2009
2008–09
2008–09
200809
2008
2008
2007–08
2006–072010
2006
2005–06
2005–06
Euroseries 3000
GP2 Asia Series
A1 Grand Prix
Int. Formula Master
Australian Formula Three
Formula Master Italia
Formula V6 Asia
Toyota Racing Series
Formula BMW Asia
New Zealand Formula Ford
South Island Formula Ford
Championship titles
2006 Formula BMW Asia
Awards
2008 Lady Wigram Trophy

Earl Anderson Bamber[1] (born 9 July 1990) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, currently competing as a factory driver for Porsche in the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE class, the North American WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GT Le Mans class and the VLN Endurance Racing Championship Nürburgring.[2][3] He is the 2014 Porsche Supercup and double Porsche Carrera Cup Asia champion,[4] and won the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans with Nico Hülkenberg and Nick Tandy.[5]

Early life

Earl Bamber was born in Whanganui, New Zealand, to Paul and Maureen Bamber (née Johnson), and lived on a farm where he learned to drive in the small settlement of Jerusalem on the Whanganui River.[6][7] He attended Wanganui Collegiate School along with his younger brother, William. Bamber began in kart racing and won his first title aged 12, at the North Island Sprint Championships (Junior 100cc Yamaha Restricted), and his first national title at the 2004 Sprint Kart Championship meeting in Auckland.[8] Later that year, he secured a podium at the Rotax Max category's annual Grand Final in Portugal after dominating the Junior class in the 2004 Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand.[8]

Racing career

Open-wheel racing

Bamber progressed through karts and single seater series and was ranked sixth highest future star in the world by the internationally recognised website driverdb.com in 2008.[8] At 15 he switched to the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship before competing in Asia two years later where he won the Asian Formula BMW title. He achieved pole positions, fastest laps and podium results in Formula Renault V6 and Australian Formula 3, despite a tight budget.[9] In 2008 he won two vice-championship trophies – in Formula Renault V6 Asia and Toyota Racing Series New Zealand. Bamber contested several rounds of the international A1 Grand Prix series for the New Zealand team in 2009, finishing on the podium three times. He also stood on the podium in GP2 Asia, at the age of 19. In 2010 he repeated his 2008 success and was again crowned runner-up in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series.[9]

Sportscar racing

2013

In 2013, Bamber made his first appearance in Porsche's one make series in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia with Malaysian team, Nexus Racing. He battled all season with Martin Ragginger but eventually won the drivers championship.[10] Bamber was also successful in endurance racing, winning the Bathurst 12 Hour (Class B) with Grove Racing, alongside team owner and Carrera Cup Australia regular Stephen Grove and eventual Supercup rival Ben Barker.[10] He was subsequently selected to race in three Porsche Supercup meetings.[11] Bamber's inaugural sportscar racing season ended with victory in the Carrera Cup Asia race at the 60th Macau Grand Prix meeting, defeating nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb in the process.[12]

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia nominated Bamber for the Porsche Motorsport International Cup Scholarship shootout in Oschersleben, Germany, where he beat seven other top pilots from Porsche one-make cups series around the world.[9] Part of the selection process included the simulation of a qualifying session as well as an entire race. He received funding of 200,000 Euros for his 2014 Porsche Supercup season campaign the following season.[9]

2014

Bamber raced with FACH Auto Tech in the Porsche Supercup alongside Porsche Carrera Cups of Germany and Asia with Team 75 Bernhard and LKM Racing, respectively. After ten rounds in the Supercup, Bamber won the drivers championship with 155 points, ahead of Kuba Giermaziak on 132 points, becoming the first New Zealander to win the Porsche Supercup title and the first rookie to do so. After seven of the ten races, the FACH Auto Tech driver had already won the rookie classification.[13] He dominated the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season on his way to retaining the title as he won eight out of the ten races that he competed in despite missing two races in Zhuhai due to his concurrent commitments in Porsche Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.[10] With the support of Team 75 Bernhard, Bamber competed in ten out of eighteen rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany with two wins, five podiums and three fastest laps. He left the series holding second position in the Drivers Championship and was seventh overall at the end of the season.[10] Bamber also replaced the injured Richard Lietz in the Porsche 911 RSR at the Petit Le Mans in the United SportsCar Championship, joining Porsche works drivers Patrick Long and Michael Christensen. Their second place ensured team Porsche North America, run by Core Autosport, won the manufacturers title in the championship.[14]

2015

Hülkenberg, Tandy and Bamber, winners of the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, car Porsche 919 Hybrid #19

Prior to the start of the 2015 season, Bamber was signed by Porsche Motorsport as a works driver.[15] In January 2015, Bamber and fellow works drivers Jörg Bergmeister and Frédéric Makowiecki took the No.912 Porsche 911 RSR to seventh place at the 24 Hours of Daytona.[16] Bamber and Nick Tandy joined Formula One driver Nico Hülkenberg in the Porsche LMP squad to contest the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the Le Mans 24 Hours in a 919 Hybrid.[17] Bamber's hybrid, car No. 19, was third on the grid after Porsche finished first, second and third in qualifying,[18] but ended up winning comfortably. Bamber's childhood friend and Porsche teammate, Brendon Hartley, with co-drivers Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard, started from second on the grid in a 919 Hybrid and finished the race in second place.[19] Earl Bamber claimed his first career GT Le Mans (GTLM) pole at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in his first qualifying attempt as a Porsche factory driver on August 8.[20] He bettered the previous lap record by more than a full second.[21] He also made a guest appearance in the FIA World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Nürburgring, filling in for Klaus Bachler in the No. 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.[22] Earl made his debut in the FIA GT World Cup in the streets of Macau in November.[23] The versatility in going between LMP1, GTE-Pro (GT Le Mans in IMSA) and GTE-Am this year, he said, made him a better driver.[24]

2016

In 2016, Earl continues to pilot the 911 RSR for Porsche North America and Porsche Motorsport in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the World Endurance Championship, respectively.[25] Bamber was the highest placed Kiwi driver at the 54th running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona when his Porsche 911 RSR team came home third in the GTLM class and placed ninth overall.[26] Earl Bamber made a successful return at the Bathurst 12 Hour with a 2nd Class B victory for Grove Motorsport in as many races at the endurance classic in Mount Panorama, Australia alongside team owner Stephen Grove and V8 Supercars driver Scott McLaughlin.[27] In changing weather conditions at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Bamber and his teammates in the #912 Porsche 911 RSR finished 3rd.[28]

2017

On 3 December 2016, Earl is confirmed to run in 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship as the driver of Porsche 919 Hybrid car #2, alongside Nick Tandy and André Lotterer.[29]

Helmets

Bamber uses helmets designed by Italian manufacturers Stilo.[30] He acknowledges his home country with a silver fern design on the sides of his Stilo ST5 helmets, a quasi-national emblem used for various official symbols, including the Coat of arms of New Zealand and the New Zealand one dollar coin. On top are four red stars with white borders representing the Southern Cross which features on the Flag of New Zealand.[31] He has the number 19 painted on the back of one of his helmets, the same number as on his Porsche 919 Hybrid.

Racing record

Career results

Season Series Position Car Team
2005–06 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 4th Van Diemen RF93 Ford
2006 Formula BMW Asia 1st Mygale FB02 BMW Team Meritus
2006–07 Toyota Racing Series 7th Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota Team Meritus
2007 Formula Renault V6 Asia Championship 10th Tatuus FRV6 Renault Team Meritus
2007–08 Toyota Racing Series 2nd Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota International Motorsport
2008 Formula V6 Asia 2nd Tatuus FRV6 Renault Team Meritus
2008 Australian Drivers' Championship 13th Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz Team BRM
2008 International Formula Master 15th Tatuus N.T07 Honda ADM Motorsport
2008–09 Toyota Racing Series 12th Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota Earl Bamber Racing
2008–09 GP2 Asia Series 14th Dallara GP2/05 Renault Team Meritus
2008–09 A1 Grand Prix 7th Ferrari A1 08 A1 Team New Zealand
Super Nova Racing
2009 International Formula Master 18th Tatuus N.T07 Honda ADM Motorsport
2009 Euroseries 3000 11th Lola B05/52 Zytek TP Formula
2010 Toyota Racing Series 2nd Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota Triple X Motorsport
2010 Superleague Formula 7th Panoz DP09B Menard F.C. Porto
Reid Motorsport
2010–11 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand 15th Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Triple X Motorsport
2011 Toyota Racing Series 15th Tatuus TT104ZZ Toyota M2 Competition
2011 Superleague Formula 7th Panoz DP09B Menard New Zealand
Reid Motorsport
2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 1st Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Nexus Racing
Porsche Supercup NC Porsche 997 GT3 Cup FACH Auto Tech
2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia 1st Porsche 991 GT3 Cup LKM Racing
Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland 7th Porsche 991 GT3 Cup 75 Motorsport
Porsche Supercup 1st Porsche 991 GT3 Cup FACH Auto Tech
2015 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP1 9th Porsche 919 Hybrid Porsche Team
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am 13th Porsche 911 RSR Abu Dhabi - Proton Racing
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship 10th Porsche 911 RSR Porsche North America
2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 4th Porsche 911 RSR Porsche North America
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro NC Porsche 911 RSR Porsche Motorsport

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2007–08 New Zealand NED
SPR
NED
FEA
CZE
SPR
CZE
FEA
MYS
SPR
MYS
FEA
CHN
SPR

PO
CHN
FEA

PO
NZL
SPR
NZL
FEA
AUS
SPR

PO
AUS
FEA

PO
RSA
SPR
RSA
FEA
MEX
SPR
MEX
FEA
CHN
SPR
CHN
FEA
GBR
SPR
GBR
FEA
2nd 93
2008–09 NED
SPR

2
NED
FEA

3
CHN
SPR
CHN
FEA
MYS
SPR

3
MYS
FEA

6
NZL
SPR
NZL
FEA
RSA
SPR

8
RSA
FEA

Ret
POR
SPR

Ret
POR
FEA

Ret
GBR
SPR

Ret
GBR
FEA

Ret
7th 36

Complete GP2 Series results

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points
2008–09 Qi-Meritus Mahara CHN
FEA

6
CHN
SPR

2
UAE
FEA

Ret
UAE
SPR

C
BHR
FEA

11
BHR
SPR

7
QAT
FEA
QAT
SPR
MAL
FEA
MAL
SPR
BHR
FEA
BHR
SPR
14th 8

Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Asia results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DC Points
2013 Nexus Racing SEP
3

SHG
2

SHG
2
ZIC
1
ZIC
1
ORD
1
ORD
1
INJ
10
INJ
3
SIN
1
SHG
1
SHG
2
1st 217
2014 LKM Racing SEP
1
SHG
1
SHG
3
ZIC ZIC FUJ
1
FUJ
1
SEP
1
SEP
2
SIN
1
SHG
1
SHG
1
1st 199

Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Germany results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2014 Team 75 Bernhard HOC
3
HOC
1
OSC
Ret
OSC
5
HUN
5
HUN
17
NOR
5
NOR
2
RBR
2
RBR
1
NÜR NÜR LAU LAU SAC SAC HOC HOC 7th 126

Complete Porsche Supercup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Pts
2013 FACH Auto Tech ESP MON GBR GER HUN
15
BEL ITA UAE
2
UAE
5
NC 0
2014 FACH Auto Tech ESP
1
MON
9
AUT
6
GBR
3
GER
2
HUN
3
BEL
1
ITA
3
USA
4
USA
2
1st 155

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2014 Australia Grove Group Australia Stephen Grove
United Kingdom Ben Barker
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Class B 286 8th 1st
2016 Australia Grove Hire Australia Stephen Grove
New Zealand Scott McLaughlin
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Class B 285 12th 1st

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2015 Germany Porsche Team Germany Nico Hülkenberg
United Kingdom Nick Tandy
Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 395 1st 1st
2016 Germany Porsche Motorsport Germany Jörg Bergmeister
France Frédéric Makowiecki
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE
Pro
140 DNF DNF

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
2015 Porsche Team LMP1 Porsche 919 Hybrid Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4
(Hybrid)
SIL SPA
6
LMS
1
9th 58
Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing LMGTE Am Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 NÜR
6
COA
2
FUJ
5
SHA BHR 13th 36

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points
2014 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR GTLM DIS
SEB
LBGP
LAG
WGI
MOS
IND
ROA
VIR
COT
RAT
2
29th 33
2015 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR GTLM DIS
7
SEB
7
LBGP
LAG
WGI
2
MOS
7
LRP
ROA
2
VIR
2
COT
5
RAT
8
10th 225
2016 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR GTLM DIS
3
SEB
3

LBGP
7

LAG
3

WGI
MOS
LRP
ROA
VIR
COT
RAT
2nd 118

References

  1. "About Earl". earlbambermotorsport.com. Earl Bamber. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  2. "Bamber lands Porsche LMP1 Drive for Le Mans". MotorNews.co.nz. CRC Industries New Zealand Limited. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  3. "Tandy, Bamber set for North American focus in 2016". Sportscar 365. Sportscar365.com. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  4. "Earl Anderson Bamber". Porsche Works Drivers. Porsche Motorsports. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  5. "Le Mans 24 Hours: F1's Hulkenberg leads Porsche 1–2". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. "Earl Bamber's on top of World motorsport". 3NEWS. MediaWorks TV. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. Maslin, John (16 June 2016). "Bamber drives into history with first-up Le Mans win". Wanganui Chronicle. NZME Publishing Limited. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Black Bullet Profile: Earl Bamber". BlackBullets.com. Pacific Motorsport. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Earl Bamber wins factory scholarship 2014". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Earl Bamber Racing Career Profile". DriverDatabase Newsroom. DriverDB AB. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  11. "Pole and second place finish for Bamber in Porsche Supercup". motornews.co.nz. motornews.co.nz. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  12. "Bamber, Loeb and Ragginger in all-star Macau podium". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  13. "Earl Bamber is the new Porsche champion". The Porsche Newsroom. Porsche AG. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  14. SpeedCafe (6 October 2014). "Bamber Claims Petit Le Mans podium". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  15. NZ Herald (15 December 2014). "NZ driver Earl Bamber joins Porsche factory team". The New Zealand Herald. NZME Publishing Limited. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. "Porsche TUDOR United SportsCar Championship". Porsche Cars North America. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  17. Watkins, Gary (5 February 2015). "Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy join Nico Hulkenberg in Le Mans Porsche". Autosport.com. Haymarket Media Group. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  18. "Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber cars line up second, third in Le Mans 24 Hours grid". stuff.co.nz. Fairfax New Zealand Limited. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  19. Morley, Gary; Hussain, Leila (16 June 2015). "Earl Bamber:From the farm to racing magical Le Mans". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  20. "Porsche's Bamber takes first GTLM pole as factory driver". IMSA. IMSA. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  21. "Bamber smashes track record for GTLM pole at Road America". Sportscar 365. Sportscar365.com. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  22. "Bamber to Sub for Bachler at 6H Nurburgring". Sportscar 365. Sportscar365.com. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  23. "Spectacular entry list for FIA GT World Cup". FIA. FIA.com. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  24. "Bamber: "I Learned a Huge Amount and Grew as a Driver"". sportscar365. sportscar365.com. 26 December 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  25. "Tandy, Bamber set for North American focus in 2016". Sportscar 365. Sportscar365.com. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  26. "Bamber best of Kiwis at Daytona". NZ Motor Racing. nzmotorracing.co.nz. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  27. "Van Gisbergen, McLaren win Bathurst 12 Hr". FOXSports Motor Racing. FOXSports.com. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  28. "Corvette Racing continues IMSA SportsCar Championship dominance". AutoWeek. Autoweek.com. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  29. "Lotterer, Tandy and Bamber confirmed at Porsche for 2017". FIA WEC. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  30. "The Choice of Champions". Stilo.it. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  31. "Flags". Ministry for Culture and Heritage (New Zealand). 23 July 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Earl Bamber.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Salman Al Khalifa
Formula BMW Asia
Champion

2006
Succeeded by
Jazeman Jaafar
Preceded by
Daniel Gaunt
Winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix
2010
Succeeded by
Mitch Evans
Preceded by
Alexandre Imperatori
Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
Champion

2013–2014
Succeeded by
Chris van der Drift
Preceded by
Nicki Thiim
Porsche Supercup
Champion

2014
Succeeded by
Philipp Eng
Preceded by
Marcel Fässler
André Lotterer
Benoît Tréluyer
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
2015 with:
Nico Hülkenberg
Nick Tandy
Succeeded by
Romain Dumas
Neel Jani
Marc Lieb
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