In case you’ve been living under a rock and didn’t notice, we have a new kid on the block – his name is Earl Bamber, but we call him Bam Bam.
Bam Bam is Shane “SVG” van Gisbergen’s co-driver for the 2018 PIRTEK Enduro Cup and has already stood on the podium, with just one endurance race down (for those living under a rock, click here).
SVG and Bam Bam go way back, they are both Kiwis and grew up racing karts against each other, but now they are mates racing together and making lame Kiwi jokes that no one else can quite understand.
So, for some handy trivia knowledge or water cooler chat, here’s a list of things that you may not have known about Bam Bam.
1. My first car was a Corolla Wagon, it was part of a sponsorship deal with a local dealer and it even had my face on the side of it.
2. I’ve never broken a bone yet (touch wood)… The worst I’ve done is dislocated a few fingers playing rugby.
Bamber: ‘A big responsibility’
3. The first time I won a race was the Taranaki WPKA – I had never won anything and I remember there being a huge trophy for the weekend.
4. My first memories of SVG are at the kart track when we started racing each other – every time it rained, he won 😛
5. I’ve been travelling the world since I was 16 and the first time I moved overseas full-time was in 2011. I had moved to try and find some more chances to continue racing. It has been a real adventure.
6. I am currently based in Malaysia and I have a few different businesses in South East Asia – one of them being a race team. I’m not sure if that’s a great idea or a horrible idea. We will see.
7. I fly a lot and my record in one year is 105 flights in 2016 – that’s 30 days inside a plane. Although, I think I am on track to smash that out of the park this year.
8. Eating lollies is a bad habit for me – you could just put a bag of lollies in front of me and they would be gone in seconds, and then I would feel sick soon after.
9. I am left-handed, like most Kiwis.
10. I don’t have many fears although my biggest fear during a 24 hour race is not being ready on time to get in the car – I’ve had a bad experience once and never again.
