Team Porsche New Zealand has confirmed its 2026 driver line-up, with Tom Bewley and Marco Giltrap set to represent the Kiwi-backed programme across Porsche’s leading one-make championships in Australia and Asia in partnership with Earl Bamber Motorsport.
Bewley will graduate to the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia after securing third in the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge standings. The 2026 campaign will see him take on the region’s premier Porsche one-make category, a series widely recognised as a critical proving ground for drivers targeting professional GT careers.
The scholarship seat has previously served as a springboard for several New Zealand drivers, most notably Callum Hedge, who converted the opportunity into the 2023 Carrera Cup title before progressing to Indy NXT in the United States.
Bewley’s season will begin at the opening round supporting the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, placing him on a high-profile platform from the outset. He said he is looking forward to continuing with Team Porsche New Zealand and EBM after a strong Sprint Challenge season, adding that the move to Carrera Cup will bring new circuits and a higher level of competition.
Giltrap, meanwhile, will shift his focus fully to the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, committing to a complete season after previously contesting selected Asian rounds alongside a domestic Australian programme. He enjoyed success earlier this year at Sepang International Circuit, where he claimed two podium finishes.
For 2026, Giltrap will race the latest 992.2-generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, gaining experience with Porsche’s newest customer racing machinery across a broader spread of circuits in the region. The upcoming campaign marks his fourth season within the Team Porsche New Zealand structure.
Giltrap described the move as an exciting step, pointing to the competitiveness of Carrera Cup Asia and the team’s previous results in the championship.
Now entering its sixth year, Team Porsche New Zealand’s scholarship programme has established itself as one of the more structured development pathways for emerging Kiwi drivers. The initiative claimed both available championship titles in 2023 and has supported the careers of drivers including Matthew Payne, Ryan Wood and Hedge.
The programme is overseen by two-time Le Mans winner Earl Bamber, whose own career trajectory shifted after winning the 2013 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title and securing the Porsche Motorsport International Cup Scholarship.
Bamber said it has been impressive to observe Bewley’s development within Porsche machinery, drawing comparisons to the early stages of Matthew Payne’s career and expressing confidence in his potential at the top level of one-make competition in Australia.
Porsche New Zealand General Manager Greg Clarke added that the scholarship programme continues to provide a pathway for young Kiwi drivers to break into the international racing market, confirming that the organisation will maintain its commitment in Asia alongside its established Australian programme in 2026.
With parallel campaigns across both sides of the Tasman and throughout Asia, the structure reinforces Team Porsche New Zealand’s model of combining domestic development with broader regional exposure within Porsche’s global customer racing ladder.
