Earl Bamber will compete in the 2021 IMSA Sportscar championship with the Kiwi confirmed to race in the GT Daytona class as part of Team Hardpoint’s new alliance with Earl Bamber Motorsport and Porsche.
Bamber has been in the American series since 2014 but earlier this year was left without a drive for next season following Porsche’s announcement they will be withdrawing its GT Le Mans effort for 2021.
The 2019 series champion will now be part of a new alliance between Earl Bamber Motorsport and Hardpoint Racing who are competing this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hour in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo.
Next year, Bamber will partner team owner Rob Ferriol at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R for the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The team will also be renamed as Team Hardpoint EBM.
The deal emerged through EBM’s co-owner Will Bamber who joined Hardpoint as a team manager midway through this season.
“It’s really exciting to see the partnership between Team Hardpoint and Earl Bamber Motorsport expand into GTD,” said Bamber.
“As a team owner, I’m very proud to see all of our hard work come to fruition.
“As a driver, I’m thrilled to stay in IMSA next year. I love the tracks, I love the competition and I love the fans. I’m going to do my best to get Rob and Team Hardpoint EBM some wins in 2021.”
Ferriol is no stranger to Porsche racing. The American finished runner-up in both the 2018 and 2019 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Gold championships.
“This is an exciting chapter not just for Team Hardpoint EBM, but also for me personally,” added Ferriol. “I’ve loved Porsches since long before I could afford one.
“When my business started to see some success a few years ago, the first gift I bought myself was a used Porsche 911.
“The first time I was on a racetrack, and the first time I went racing – both Porsches.
“So to have this opportunity to not only expand the Team Hardpoint EBM partnership into the WeatherTech series, but also share driving duties in the Porsche 911 GT3 R is a dream come true.
“When Porsche announced that the IMSA GTLM program was coming to a close, I was among the many Porsche enthusiasts who were losing their rooting interest.
“Hopefully, Earl and I can give those very passionate fans another Porsche to root for next year.”