Bamber Expecting “Spicy” Race With No. 6 Penske Porsche

Photo: Porsche

Earl Bamber said he’s expecting a “spicy” race against the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title fight heats up amid a key driver change.

Bamber, whose Action Express Racing co-driver Jack Aitken leads the standings by 118 points over Laurin Heinrich, will now see Heinrich take the title fight in the same car that came to blows with Aitken last time out at Road America.

Contact between Aitken and the No. 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre while battling for second in last month’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America resulted in both cars being knocked out of the race and Estre later handed a post-race time penalty and a two-race probation for “unjustifiable risk.”

Porsche has since placed Heinrich, who was due to continue in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports privateer entry for the Battle on the Bricks, in the No. 6 entry with Estre for Sunday’s two-hour and 40-minute contest.

The Kiwi admitted he’s expecting championship tensions to rise this weekend as a result of the driver pairing in the Porsche.

“I probably would have done it the other way around if it were me,” said Bamber. “It will be interesting to see the level of aggression.

“Kevin has been doing those sorts of moves for a long time and getting away with it, and this year’s been a year that he hasn’t really got away with it at many of the races. so it will be interesting to see his approach.

“It was a shame for the 31 guys and for Jack, because he just placed himself in a spot where he deserved racing room and just got driven off the track.

“It’s good that IMSA put a foot down to it but like I said, it’s going to be interesting just to see that whole title fight.

“It’s going to be aggressive between Laurin and the 6 car and us, because obviously, they need to make up some points, so it’s going to be spicy for sure at some stage.”

When asked how he’s approaching the penultimate WeatherTech Championship race of the season, in supporting Aitken’s points lead, Bamber said it will “business as usual.”

“I don’t think we really need to change a good thing,” he said. “We’ve been executing some really good races.

“We had a good look at Road America. I don’t think we have the outright fastest car like we had at Detroit or Watkins Glen. But, like I said, we still put ourselves in a position to be in the top three there at the end of the race.

“So that’s what we’re going to try and do again.”

Both Bamber and Aitken are carrying momentum to The Brickyard, having teamed with Sebastien Bourdais for their first FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar podium finish of the season in the recent 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas in the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R.

“We’ve been very quick, and then, Le Mans was obviously heartbreaking for everyone at Cadillac,” said Bamber.

“Leading Le Mans for so many hours, it was still hard to get over. But to grab a second-place and fight back from the strategy disadvantage.

“I think we’re up to tenth in the championship, and still scoring good points, and Fuji’s also a strong one for us as well.

“But it definitely helps myself and Jack a lot having the double program, and just being in those cars that much, and understanding the setup directions, and what’s going on, and bringing stuff from both programs continues to push us forward.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John