There are few people who wouldn't recognise the name Bamber in Porsche Motorsport. The familiar name lends itself to two brothers who grew up on a farm in Whanganui, New Zealand both with a passion for Motorsport at a very young age. Whilst a shared ambition to race at the highest level took them into motorsport, the motorsport paths of Will and Earl were very different. Yet, as we stand on the eve of the 2021 Daytona 24 Hours, both brothers will face the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the same team, one as a driver and one as team principal. The recent news sees Team Hardpoint EMB, owned by Rob Ferriol, Will Bamber & Earl Bamber, enter a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the 2021 IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship GT Daytona class. Rob Ferriol and Earl Bamber will pair as the full-season driver line up. Christina Nielsen and Katherine Legge, two of the more popular and successful IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship drivers in recent history will also join the pair for the season opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Team Hardpoint EBM/Sideline Sports Photography

We caught up with Will trackside as preparations begin for the 24 hours:

”It's been a crazy couple of months, we announced our first involvement with IMSA back at the 2020 Petit Le Mans and even that feels a long time ago now. There was always the possibility and arguably eventuality that we would combine our alliance with Porsche and put our programme together. It's a fantastic feeling to be back racing with Porsche, its spiritual home for Rob Ferriol who started in the 911 Cup and myself and Earl have been associated with Porsche for a long time.”

”Since we made that announcement back at Sebring, from the outside it's looked quiet, that was not the case. Myself and the team have kept our heads down whilst we've been working on bringing a new IMSA programme in 2021. We've used my own experience racing in Asia and the wealth of knowledge Rob has already established in the championships to help get us to this point today. There's been a few logistical hoops to jump through, we've had to bring a lot of our gear over from Asia and given the Covid 19 protocols across the world right now, it's been a battle. We basically started a fresh from the 7th January 2021 and it's been a lot of work in a very short period of time."

Porsche Motorsports announced last season that they would conclude their factory programme in the IMSA GTLM category. Wills brother, Earl, was one of four Porsche Factory drivers who competed full time in the IMSA calendar and may have been without a Porsche seat in 2021. "The announcement of Porsche leaving the series and Earl been available to drive actually didn't play a part in our decision to run a GTD Porsche programme. We announced our programme very early compared to the news of Porsche leaving the GTLM category in 2021 which all came very quickly and was a surprise to me. For sure, it's an added bonus to have Earl in the car alongside Rob for the duration of the season and of course the 24 Hours at Daytona.

The family name not only became recognised across the USA and Europe thanks to Earl, the Asian motorsport scene also had Will competing in both the Porsche Carrera Cup and GT series. "It's scary to think we started Bamber Motorsport in 2017 and in such a short period of time we're now here at the Daytona 24 Hours as Team Hardpoint EBM. From Earl giving me the opportunity to fulfil my ambitions racing over in Asia, to standing here talking to you today as we begin the preparations for the teams first 24 hour endurance race, I'm forever grateful. For us, it's not just the season ahead, we're really focused on the younger generation within the Porsche Motorsport. The Bamber family knows the Porsche Carrera Cup series very well and gave Earl and myself a platform to success. It provides huge benefits and bring success to the next generation of drivers, you only have to look at Porsche and how they created a pyramid system that allows drivers to climb the ladder all the way to the top. I'm really happy that Bamber Motorsports can provide our own internal pyramid and offer opportunities both in Asia and North America. We've got some fantastic talent coming through."

Looking ahead to the IMSA season, even now without a factory effort in the GTLM category fans of Porsche Motorsport won't miss out in 2021. Wright Motorsports who was the only Porsche to run in the GTD category throughout 2020 will now be joined by Pfaff Motorsports, Team TGM and Team Hardpoint EBM. As the factory programmes look to restructure over the next few years, we look to privateer teams to provide the action in the GT categories. "The GTD class this season is going to be really competitive, not just between the teams running the Porsche but the whole field. I think we're getting over 20 entries just for Daytona and the calibre of drivers is fantastic, it's going to be great to see. Customer racing is so competitive right now, we work at the top professional level possible and are always conscious that we're representing the brand of Porsche. There's certainly strength in numbers for the brand in the GTD field and it's not just down to Wright Motorsports who did a fantastic job as the sole Porsche entry last year. Porsche Customer Racing has done a great job working towards this weekends Daytona 24 hours. Whilst we're competing against every team out there there's certainly evidence of a unified effort from all the Porsche teams. I guess you could say we're the new kids on the block, so it's great to have these teams around us who have offered support going into the new season.