EARL BAMBER MOTORSPORT CAPTURES THRILLING BATHURST VICTORY

PRESS RELEASE/Earl Bamber Motorsport – Photo: Velocity Magazine (Darin Mandy)

Earl Bamber Motorsport (EBM) won the Bathurst 12 Hour in electrifying fashion, with the No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R storming to the lead in the closing moments of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season opener.
 
Starting P6 and P11, EBM approached the legendary endurance race with a strategy of patience and fuel economy. Knowing the Porsche could go the furthest on a tank of fuel, the team used an alternate pit strategy to outlast the competition. Additionally, the drivers were careful to stay out of trouble and as others dropped off with mechanical issues and damage from contact, the No. 911 and No. 912 charged to the front.
 
The two Porsches traded places up front with each pit cycle. The team anticipated that as the race neared its conclusion, the rest of the field would need to pit one more time after the EBM cars made their final stops.
 
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be for the No. 911. While leading with less than three hours to go, Matthieu Jaminet (France) reported a loss of power steering. The team brought the car into the garage for an inspection and determined it was not feasible to repair the problem with the time remaining in the race. Jaminet, Romain Dumas (France) and Sven Mueller (Germany) officially retired after 234 laps.
 
The No. 912 continued on and Australian Matt Campbell was put in the car for the final stint. After Campbell pitted for his final tank of fuel and fresh tyres, the team was surprised to see the leaders pit for fuel only to shorten their stops and come out in front of the No. 912. In the extreme heat (32C ambient), double-stinting tires was a bold move.
 
A late race safety car bunched up the field and got Campbell in the perfect position to attack with his healthier tyres. First he was around the No. 999 Mercedes and then Campbell made a bold move to take the lead away from the No. 62 Aston Martin with nine minutes left.
 
There was no question that in the end the No. 912 shared by Campbell, Dennis Olsen (Norway) and Dirk Werner (Germany) was the car to beat as it sailed across the finish line 3.44 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

The stellar result for EBM was the first Bathurst 12 Hour win for Porsche and one final victory for the current generation Porsche 911 GT3 R before its successor arrives for the next round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

MATT CAMPBELL, Driver, No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t know it was going to be that tough with the other teams staying on old tires. We had fresh tires. As the clock wore down I gave it everything I had.
 
“It was win it or bin it. I knew coming into the race we’d be in contention. We’d been close so many times and to win it in the final stint like we did, I don’t know what to say, this is the best moment of my entire life.”

DIRK WERNER, Driver, No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“For me, this is a win I’ve been waiting for, for a long time now. For everyone involved, the team, the drivers, Porsche, this was not an easy one. This track is very demanding and tough on the car. This is how you want to win a race; you don’t want to profit from other people’s mistakes, you want a win where you know you deserve it and I think this was well-deserved by everybody involved.
 
“The end was nerve wracking. We knew that we had a chance to win. We had a good car in the end and we had a driver who knew the track very well. To watch all these moves that Matt made was amazing. We were all fans of Matt in that moment. There was lots of cheering in the pits.”

DENNIS OLSEN, Driver, No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“When I have teammates like Matt and Dirk this place seems easy. No, actually it’s been a really tough race. We’ve been working hard the whole week. Earl Bamber Motorsport has been doing a stunning job and I’ve been learning a lot from Matt. At the end it was just enough to get the win.
 
“The guys did everything perfect. The team prepared so well. At the end of the day I really hope that Earl is satisfied with our performance.”

MATHIEU JAMINET, Driver, No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“It looks like we lost the power steering. We were quite lucky to stay on track because it happened in the fastest corner in fifth gear. I thought I was going to put the car in the wall, but I was able to keep it on track. From there the race was over, which is a shame because we were leading with a gap. The car was really good and the team did a good job. It happens. It is part of racing.”

SVEN MUELLER, Driver, No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“We really had a great race. I enjoyed every moment out there. We improved our car all weekend and we had a good pace. We had P1 in control, so it was a shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

ROMAIN DUMAS, Driver, No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R

“It is disappointing for us and for the team. I think for Earl it was a great show to see his cars running 1-2. We had an issue with the steering—it wasn’t anybody’s fault. It wasn’t easy where we started from, but we had the perfect window for finishing the race. In the end it didn’t work out, but that’s racing.”

EARL BAMBER, Owner, Earl Bamber Motorsport

“We started this on the 10th of December and since then (team manager) Greg Wooster, my brother Will and I have been digging and have had a lot of sleepless nights. A lot of work went into this to cover all the options and possible scenarios. My goal was to give two equal cars at the highest level to both crews. We were running one and two several times. I feel really bad for the 911 that we had a steering failure on that car. It’s a real shame.
 
“Matt did an amazing job in the 912 in his last stint. He fought back and pulled off the move of the race grinding the wall in The Elbow. Now we’re Bathurst Champions in our first trip here as a team. Hats off to Dennis in his first time here and Dirk did an incredible job.”

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