Madeline Stewart. Photo / Porsche Australia
Earl and Will Bamber's eponymous race team is expanding again.
They have already established themselves in Asia contesting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, where Will has been a regular on the podium, and recently the team announced a collaboration with Team Hardpoint to race in the America IMSA championship.
Hot on the heels of that deal, have revealed they'll be partnering with Porsche New Zealand to race two cars in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series in 2021.
As you can imagine, the number of drivers to put their hands up for that gig in either Australian category (Earl will be racing in America) would be long indeed. Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM), however, have opted to mentor and develop two rising stars of Kiwi motorsport.
New Zealand karting champion Matthew Payne will be entered to race a 911 GT3 Cup Car in the Carrera Cup series while former karting champion and Super3 racer Madeline Stewart will race a previous generation 911 GT3 Cup Car in the Sprint series.
"It's certainly an exciting time and I'm really looking forward to next year," Stewart told the Weekend Herald from Australia.
"We hadn't confirmed our plans for next year and when Will and Earl said they were setting up a team to race in Australia I was pretty excited.
"After racing a Porsche a bit this year I decided I really enjoyed it and it suits my driving style. I like to carry a lot of speed through a corner and the Porsche has a lot more grip than a lot of other cars.
"I am a proud Kiwi, so to have Porsche New Zealand's support is an honour. I am really grateful to be representing their brand and proud to have them on board for next year."
Stewart is now based in Australia and was slated to race in the GT World Challenge Asia. However, Covid-19 put paid to that, but not all was lost. Stewart managed to pick up a few drives including a few outings in Super3 with Brad Jones Racing.
Despite the big leap from karting to a racing with a roof, Stewart equipped herself well during the truncated 2020 race season. At round one of the Super3 championship at Sydney Motorsport Park she finished third. Stewart then won the Super3 class at Townsville and swapped to a Porsche GT3 Cup Car at The Bend finishing fourth in the Super Stuttgart class.
"I was supposed to race in the Thai Superseries in 2020 and obviously that didn't end up happening due to Covid. In the meantime, I still went up there and did some testing with them [EBM] in a Porsche at Sepang," explains Stewart.
"I also did some Tin Top [Australian category] racing and raced in a Porsche as well with McElrea Racing, which I really loved.
"I could have stayed with Super3 or Super2 but the opportunities with Porsche are bigger.
"Another part of the decision was that I think that racing in Porsche championships is really strong where the cars are all the same and the racing is much closer.
"In Super2 this year the fields were small and I think racing in one make series will improve my race craft as the racing is much closer."
During her career Stewart has taken advantage of all the great support and mentorship available to increase her racing repertoire and is really looking forward to getting as much as she can from both the Bamber brothers. Earl in particular has an impressive record in a Porsche with two Le Mans 24 Hour wins, a World Endurance Championship, a Porsche Supercup title, two Carrera Cup Asia titles, and an American Sportscar championship.
"I'm looking forward to building up a good level of skill racing these cars and I'm lucky enough to have Earl Bamber's help with driver coaching. I know I will gain a lot from listening to his expertise and knowledge.
"Racing with Will and Earl will help me learn more and be a better racer and not many people can say they've had coaching from Earl Bamber. That was a big attraction for me to join the team."
Team Porsche New Zealand will provide an opportunity to offer a scholarship for a young New Zealand talent to drive in Carrera Cup Australia. The oversight of Earl and Will Bamber will provide invaluable experience having success from Carrera Cup series, right to the top of the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid.
"We are really excited about the Team Porsche NZ Scholarship," said Earl Bamber. "It is something we're proud to offer and it gives a solid platform for young Kiwi drivers to aspire to from karts and other national championships. It's about providing a pathway to a professional motorsports career."