Wanganui motor ace powers into record books

Wanganui's Earl Bamber savours his remarkable victory in the United States yesterday. Photo/Supplied

Wanganui's Earl Bamber has achieved what no other New Zealand motor-racing driver has done, claiming the Porsche Supercup Series Championship in Austin, Texas, yesterday morning.

The former Wanganui Collegiate student drove with care and control to finish fourth and second in the two-race final round to win the championship by 23 points.

The result capped a remarkable year for Bamber who secured the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series; the Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup Rookie title; and now the big one - the overall Porsche Mobile 1 Supercup Series title. And the 24-year-old race ace has done it all in his first year in the competition.

The Porsche International Cup Scholarship driver pumped his fist on the way to celebrating his triumph.

"I'm the happiest guy on earth right now," said an ecstatic Bamber. "It was a fantastic Supercup year topped off with a nerve-racking race at the end. This title means so much to me."

He is the first Kiwi to pocket the Porsche Supercup title and the first rookie to take the series title.

His mother, Maureen Johnson, speaking from her Wanganui home yesterday, said she was "one very proud and happy mother".

"I talked to Earl while he was getting ready for the prizegiving and he was ecstatic and very humbled by it all. I'm not sure when he will be back on New Zealand soil, but I know he won't be back for Christmas," she lamented. Bamber began carving out his racing career at the wheel of a kart, and at the age of 8 won his first national title in New Zealand. As a 15-year-old he switched to the NZ Formula Ford Championship before heading off to Asia two years later. Success quickly followed.

He won the Asian Formula BMW title before racking up pole positions, fastest race laps and podium results in the Formula Renault V6 and Australian Formula 3 - all on a tight budget.

In 2010 he repeated his 2008 success and was again crowned runner-up in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series. Making his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in 2013, Bamber convincingly won the championship after scoring seven victories.

These stunning successes were the catalyst for a group of Wanganui supporters to set up the Wheel Trust and Club 500.

Trust spokesman and Wanganui accountant Lyndsay Tait, an ardent supporter of Bamber, said many people realised the youngster's talent early on and backed him with financial donations.

"To all Wheels Trust and Club 500 members and supporters, thank you all very much for your support of Earl in those early years. Today your investment paid a rather handsome dividend.

"His achievements this year have been outstanding and not matched by any New Zealand driver in modern times. You would have to go way back to the likes of Chris Amon in Formula 1."

Tait said Bamber remained down-to-earth and not swayed by the trappings of stardom that surrounded world-class drivers in motor racing.

"He's still just a good Kiwi bloke. He is very level-headed and he showed that at the weekend when he was content to finish in the placings to ensure the title."