New Zealander Earl Bamber has been announced as part of Porsche’s new look LMP1 line-up for the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 26-year-old had been widely tipped to graduate from the German manufacturer’s GT program and will be joined by fellow factory GT driver Nick Tandy and former Audi LMP1 star Andre Lotterer.
Bamber will replace Mark Webber following the Australian’s announcement that he is to retire from professional motor racing.
The Kiwi will join countryman Brendon Hartley and German Timo Bernhard in what will now be the #2 entry.
British ace Tandy, who shared a Le Mans 24 Hours victory for Porsche alongside Bamber in 2015, will pilot the #1 machine.
He will be joined by Lotterer who was also hotly tipped to join Porsche following Audi’s shock exit form sporstcars.
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The trio will be completed by reigning WEC champion Neel Jani with the Swiss driver the only part of this year’s title-winning trio to remain following the departure of Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas.
Porsche has also made high profile changes to its GT roster highlighted by the surprise arrival of former Blancpain Endurance Series champion and FIA GT World Cup winner Laurens Vanthoor.
The 25-year-old Belgian will join the marquee having spearheaded Audi’s factory GT program in recent years.
Dirk Werner has also been recruited from BMW to fill the void left by Bamber and Tandy.
The new signings will be deployed in America’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Vanthoor joins Kevin Estre in the #911 CORE Autosport-run car, while Werner partners Patrick Pilet in the sister #912 machine.
Meanwhile, Sven Muller has also been promoted to Porsche’s GT squad although his program is yet-to-be confirmed.
The news follows the confirmation that young Aussie Matt Campbell will join the global Porsche family by competing as a junior in the Supercup series.
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