Missing Le Mans “not so bad” for Bamber

Of the 12 DPi drivers in this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race from Belle Isle, 10 of them will be heading to compete at Le Mans.

One of those who will not be taking a redeye to western France is Earl Bamber, a two-time winner of the June classic.

Despite not being one of the 186 drivers who will take to the Circuit de la Sarthe, Bamber is not bothered. The Porsche works driver explained that while no opportunities presented themselves, he didn’t really feel the urge to search for one on his own.

“Main focus is DPi over here this year,” Bamber said. “The LMP2 field [at Le Mans] is quite tricky, you always need to bring money or that sort of thing. I also didn’t really look around that much to be quite frank.”

It’s unlikely – but of course not impossible – that he will be called into action in the event a team needs a replacement. Bamber will instead spend the Le Mans weekend testing the Cadillac DPi-V.R. at Watkins Glen.

Not competing at Le Mans is “not so bad,” Bamber said. “We’ve got some testing to do over here with the DPi at Watkins Glen,” he added.

Bamber’s absence from the Le Mans 24 Hours will likely not last long. With GTP programs emerging from Porsche and Cadillac, Bamber will have his sights set on those.

“Obviously, there’s a lot going on in the future with the GTP class coming in and all that sort of stuff. It’s quite an exciting time,” Bamber said.