Whanganui's Earl Bamber joins the greats

Earl Bamber celebrates his win in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at Barcelona over the weekend. Photo / File

He has long been compared to Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon, and now expat Whanganui race car driver Earl Bamber has officially joined their ranks as an equal after his induction into the MotorSport New Zealand Wall of Fame on Saturday night.

Bamber's mother Maureen Johnson was on hand to accept the induction for her son at Wellington's TSB Arena.

The Wall of Fame was established in 1994 and is located at MotorSport House as a permanent reminder of the motoring achievements of its members, who have all made an impact on the international stage.

At 27-years-old, Bamber is the Wall's 28th inductee, having been a two-time Le Man's 24 Hours winner, co-driver in the victorious Porsche team in the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship with Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard, and a two-time Porsche Carrera Cup driver championship winner.

Currently busy in Germany as the official Porsche Motorsport factory test driver, Bamber got his time zones a little mixed up as he rang mum at 6am on Saturday to ask how the ceremony had gone, over 12 hours before it actually started.

Johnson noted in her ceremony speech that this is becoming a common occurrence as she watches her son compete across four continents.

"While Earl collects podiums and air points, I now collect livestreaming/time zone rings under my eyes. My world clock alarm is on overload."

Bamber remains flat out as the factory-backed Porsche driver in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the GTLM class, which is held in North America.

Bamber and Belgium co-driver Laurens Vanthoor picked up their first victory in the fourth round at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course earlier this month, moving up to second in the driver's championship points standings.

The young man who started as an 8-year-old cadet at the Manawatu Kart Track is also branching out into professional team ownership with the news he will run Earl Bamber Motorsport in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia series where he made his international reputation.

It will be a family affair as younger brother Will Bamber, 24, raised in Whanganui and now residing in Kuala Lumpur, will be one of the team's three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup drivers, likely meaning more sleepless nights for Johnson with added races to follow.

In her speech, Johnson singled out the Wheels Trust and Club 500 of Whanganui.
"A group of dedicated individuals who had little connection with the motorsport world," she said.

"They financially contributed when Earl's journey moved from karting into single seater racing.

"They believed and supported, with no financial gain, in a young guy's ambition and gave him a chance.

"We will always be truly indebted."

Bamber's induction was announced by MotorSport NZ president Wayne Christie and president d'Honneur Morrie Chandler.

"Our Wall of Fame is a very special way to recognise our sport's elite competitors and the valued behind-the-scenes participants such as race engineers and administrators who have contributed in a significant way to New Zealand motorsport and New Zealand's profile in world motor sports," said Christie.

"I'm delighted to welcome Earl Bamber to this unique group of New Zealanders who continue to show the world that we produce an extraordinarily talented pool of race car drivers in this country.

"I look forward to seeing where Earl's stellar career takes him next, particularly with this year's exciting step of creating his own race team.

"Earl proudly carries the silver fern as part of his helmet design, a reminder to the world that he is at the vanguard of a spectacular resurgence of New Zealand motorsport."