24h Le Mans
Virtually unknown before participating in the 24 Hours, Earl Bamber became a star when he won at Le Mans in June for his very first participation, especially since it was with Porsche that the New Zealander scored his victory. He will also race with Porsche at the 6 Hours of N
Though it was in a prototype that Earl Bamber reached the top step on the podium at the 83rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the young "Kiwi" will race a GT at the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Germany when he replaces Klaus Bachler - recruited for the German ADAC GT Masters - in the No. 88 Porsche 911 of Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing entered in the LM GTE Am class.
The Le Mans winner will support Christian Ried, driver and team manager, and Khaled Al Qubaisi who were forced to retire at the 24 Hours following a fire outbreak, whereas in 2014 the trio (with Klaus Bachler) had finished in second place in the LM GTE Am class.
Bamber will go from LM P1 to LM GTE Am, therefore from the fastest cars to the slowest, but the change shouldn't pose too much of a problem for the winner of the 2013 Asian Porsche Carrera Cup and the Porsche Supercup in 2014. Indeed, at the beginning of August Bamber finished second in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship round at Road America in an official Porsche in the GTLM class, leaving the highest step on the podium to Nick Tandy, with whom he triumped at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while Nico Hülkenberg, the third bandit, returned to F1 circuits.
The 6 Hours of Nürburgring will take place Sunday, August 30th.
Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO
PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, SUNDAY JUNE 14 2015, RACE. No rest for Earl Bamber, victorious at Le Mans, and to be present at the Nürburgrung at the end of August.
