A hiccup with finalising sponsorship means Earl Bamber is not racing in this weekend’s IMSA round at Mid-Ohio.
Bamber was due to race with Hardpoint EBM team owner Rob Ferriol in a Porsche 911 GT3 for the entire season.
The team were also set to run a second car with an all-female line-up consisting of Katherine Legge and Christina Nielsen.
Both cars competed in the Sebring 12 Hour at the end of March.
However, Ferriol and EBM co-owner Will Bamber have since encountered a ‘delay’ in securing a full-season sponsor for the second car.
Therefore, the team have decided to scale back to just one car for this weekend.
The drivers will be Ferriol and Legge, leaving Bamber and Nielson out of a drive.
“This was not an easy decision,” Ferriol said.
“Earl remains a significant part of our team, both on and off track, and I was looking forward to our first Sprint Cup race together.
“As a young team I knew there would be speed bumps along the way, and this is just one of those challenges to overcome.”
Bamber is currently 11th in the driver’s standings, with Legge in ninth.
The ex-Porsche factory driver joined the Hardpoint squad after the German manufacturer withdrew from the GT Le Mans category at the end of 2020.
“I will miss Christina and Earl in Mid-Ohio,” Legge said. “I’m sure they will be back on track with us soon, and I will focus on getting the best result possible for the team.
“We will continue to work with the stakeholders on putting all the jigsaw pieces in place for the remainder of the season.”