Open-wheel racing at the
2008–09 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, South Africa Bamber progressed through karts and single seater series and was ranked sixth highest future star in the world by the internationally recognised website driverdb.com in 2008. In 2008, he won two vice-championship trophies – in
Formula Renault V6 Asia and
Toyota Racing Series New Zealand. Bamber contested several rounds of the international
A1 Grand Prix series for the New Zealand team in 2009, finishing on the podium three times. He also stood on the podium in
GP2 Asia, at the age of 19. In 2010, he repeated his 2008 success and was again crowned runner-up in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series. Bamber was also successful in endurance racing, winning the
Bathurst 12 Hour (Class B) with
Grove Racing, alongside team owner and Carrera Cup Australia regular Stephen Grove and eventual Supercup rival
Ben Barker. Bamber's inaugural sportscar racing season ended with victory in the Carrera Cup Asia race at the 60th
Macau Grand Prix meeting, defeating nine-time World Rally Champion
Sébastien Loeb in the process. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia nominated Bamber for the Porsche Motorsport International Cup Scholarship shootout in
Oschersleben, Germany, where he beat seven other top pilots from
Porsche one-make cups series around the world. He dominated the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia season on his way to retaining the title as he won eight out of the ten races that he competed in despite missing two races in Zhuhai due to his concurrent commitments in Porsche Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.
2015 Bamber co-drove with
Hülkenberg and
Tandy to win the
2015 24 Hours of Le Mans Prior to the 2015 season, Bamber signed with Porsche Motorsport as a works driver. In January 2015, he and fellow works drivers
Jörg Bergmeister and
Frédéric Makowiecki took the No.912 Porsche 911 RSR to seventh place at the
24 Hours of Daytona. Bamber and
Nick Tandy joined
Formula One driver
Nico Hülkenberg in the Porsche LMP squad to contest the
6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the
Le Mans 24 Hours in a 919 Hybrid. Bamber's hybrid, car No. 19, was third on the grid after Porsche finished first, second and third in qualifying, but ended up winning comfortably. Bamber's childhood friend and Porsche teammate,
Brendon Hartley, with co-drivers
Mark Webber and
Timo Bernhard, started from second on the grid in a 919 Hybrid and finished the race in second place. Bamber claimed his first career GT Le Mans (GTLM) pole at the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in his first qualifying attempt as a Porsche factory driver on August 8. He bettered the previous lap record by more than a full second. He also made a guest appearance in the
FIA World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Nürburgring, filling in for
Klaus Bachler in the No. 88
Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR. Bamber made his debut in the
FIA GT World Cup in the streets of
Macau in November. The versatility in going between LMP1, GTE-Pro (GT Le Mans in IMSA) and GTE-Am this year, he said, made him a better driver.
2016 Cup of Earl Bamber, Stephen Grove and
Scott McLaughlin at the
2016 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour In 2016, Bamber continued to pilot the 911 RSR for Porsche North America and Porsche Motorsport in the
IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the
24 Hours of Le Mans in the
World Endurance Championship, respectively. Bamber was the highest placed Kiwi driver at the 54th running of the Rolex
24 Hours of Daytona when his Porsche 911 RSR team came home third in the GTLM class and placed ninth overall. Bamber made a successful return at the
Bathurst 12 Hour with a second Class B victory for
Grove Motorsport in as many races at the endurance classic in Mount Panorama, Australia alongside team owner Stephen Grove and
V8 Supercars driver
Scott McLaughlin. In changing weather conditions at the
12 Hours of Sebring, Bamber and his teammates in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR finished third.
2017 race-winning No. 2
Porsche 919 Hybrid of
Timo Bernhard,
Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber On 3 December 2016, Bamber was confirmed as a member of the Porsche LMP1 team with Nick Tandy and
André Lotterer to contest
2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. He co-drove the No. 2 car with Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, replacing the retired
Mark Webber.
Hypercar racing For the 2023 season, Bamber would join
Alex Lynn and
Richard Westbrook in the
Hypercar category of the
World Endurance Championship, piloting a
Cadillac V-Series.R ran by
Chip Ganassi Racing.
Other racing of Earl Bamber,
Laurens Vanthoor and
Mathieu Jaminet at the
2019 Petit Le Mans In August 2020, Bamber joined
NASCAR team
Richard Childress Racing for the
Xfinity Series race on the Daytona road course. Bamber had become associated with team owner
Richard Childress via his father, who was hunting partners with Childress in the 2000s; Bamber and RCR attempted to work a three-race deal after Bamber participated in oval racing with RCR driver
Ty Dillon, but it failed to materialise. Bamber started 29th in the
UNOH 188 but finished 33rd after hitting a kerb on the backstretch chicane, which caused his car to go airborne. ==Helmets==