Ex-pat Whanganui driver Earl Bamber and his Porsche LMP1 team mates will have a tough ask to get back to the same top of the podium he stood on in 2015 at this weekend's 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 26-year-old made headlines in 2015 when he joined German F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg and Great Britain's Nick Tandy as the team to win the iconic race, the first for Porsche since 1998.
Runnerup for that event was the other Porsche team of fellow Kiwi Brendon Hartley, German Timo Bernhard and Australia's Mark Webber.
Bamber has impressed so much as a contracted test driver for Porsche, since winning Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and Supercup titles in 2013-4, that he was the obvious choice to replace the departing Webber and run the full 2017 World Endurance Championship season with Hartley and Bernhard.
Two rounds into the season and Porsche is trying to keep up with the Toyota Gazoo Racing teams, who posted the first and second quickest times in the first round of qualifying at Le Mans.