Earl Bamber will sport a special livery for this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hour as Porsche bids farewell to the IMSA WeatherTech series.
Porsche will withdraw its two-car GT Le Mans effort from the IMSA series at the end of the Sebring race, citing financial cutbacks as the motive.
Consequently, 2019 IMSA champion Bamber will be left without a drive on the grid for next season and the GTLM field will be diluted to just four cars – two Corvettes and two BMWs.
As a celebration of its time in the series, both Porsche 911 RSR-19s will sport a blue, red and white colour scheme with the words ‘Thank You’ donned on the rear wings and rocker panels. The designs incorporate white stars crossed by red and blue stripes to resemble the national flag of the US.
The Kiwi is listed to pilot both the No.911 and No.912 this weekend, with Neel Jani drafted into the latter for the season finale.
“With this special vehicle design, we want to underline our connection to this tremendous racing series and also want to say a big thank you to the loyal fans,” said Porsche director of factory motorsport Pascal Zurlinden.
“While racing the 911 in the GTLM class, we experienced firsthand the excitement that our brand inspires in the USA.
“The spectators were always full of passion, they love the 911 RSR, and they were unfailingly supportive.
“We’d also like to thank everyone involved from Porsche AG, Porsche Cars North America, our motor racing colleagues in the USA, the operations team CORE autosport and, last but not least, our loyal partners.
“The huge successes over the last seven years would not have been possible without their trust and dedicated cooperation.”
The Sebring 12 Hour is scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 15, at 4.10 am NZT.
