Tom Bewley makes his international debut at Phillip Island in Australia this weekend, racing in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series.
The Hawkes’ Bay teenager will drive in the one-make GT3 series after winning the Porsche New Zealand scholarship.
The former Toyota 86 champion is the youngest recipient of the scholarship. In preparation, the 17-year-old raced a similar car twice in a New Zealand GT series to familiarise himself with the more powerful GT3 machinery before entering the Australian series.
“I’m really excited to be doing my first race with Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport. I can’t wait to get round one under my belt and learn how to race this car,” said Bewley from Melbourne.
“I noticed on the test day that the car is different in set-up to the car I raced in New Zealand, but I can’t wait to get more familiar with it and go quicker!”
The opening round will be at the fast Phillip Island circuit near Melbourne. Last week, Bewley tested his Dura-Seal/Clipped Assist Porsche for the first time during a one-day test.
“It’s an awesome track, high-speed. New Zealand doesn’t have many high-speed tracks, so it’s a learning curve. Overall, I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to start racing here.”
“Still a lot for me to learn, but learning how important the braking and the brake trace are in the car are the main things I need to work on. And also learning how the team runs and getting familiar with the environment. The operation is that much bigger.”
In partnership with Porsche New Zealand, Earl Bamber Motorsport is the team selected to run the scholarship driver over the six-round championship, which starts and finishes in Melbourne in mid-November.
“We’re really excited to welcome Tom to Earl Bamber Motorsport for the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge season,” said Ben Jenkins, Team Manager at EBM.
“He’s the next super talented Kiwi to come through the Team Porsche New Zealand Scholarship and impressed right away at his first test recently at Phillip Island. He showed great speed and race craft to wrap up the T86 championship last year, and we can’t wait to keep pushing his development this season.
“With the combination of great partners onboard for 2025, the car looks awesome, and we’re excited to see it on track here at the Island.”
Bewley’s Australian campaign is supported by Dura-Seal High Performance Vehicle Protection, along with Clipped Assist, Tony Quinn Foundation, and TACCOC.
Header Image: Supplied
