MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 17, 2025) – For the first time ever, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin will welcome a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner to its grid. Earl Bamber (Whanganui, New Zealand) will make his series debut on October 23 at Martinsville Speedway.

The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 is getting some added star power with Bamber behind the wheel of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Mazda MX-5 Cup entry, set to be fielded by Hendricks Motorsports. The Kiwi, a former factory driver for Porsche and Corvette, is fresh off a win at Petit Le Mans on October 11, driving the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac GTP for Action Express Racing.

Bamber has won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans twice (2015 and 2017) with the Porsche LMP1 program and has also won driver championships in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.

Despite his decades of racing at the most revered tracks in the world, Bamber has yet to take part in an oval race.

“I’m really excited to do the MX-5 cup race at Martinsville,” Bamber said.  “I’ve always wanted drive on an oval, so I can't say thank you enough to Whelen and to Sonny Whelen for making this happen.

“I’m not sure how it's going to go. I think there's some really talented drivers that are in that series, so I'm just there for the experience, to learn, to have a lot of fun and, like I said, tick one of the boxes on something I've always wanted to do.”

This is the second year of the MX-5 Cup exhibition race at Martinsville Speedway. The winner will go home with $25,000 and a Ridgeway clock, the runner-up receives $10,000 and third place gets $7,000 with further cash payouts down to 10th.

The 100-lap race is slated to start at 6pm ET on Thursday, October 23, with live streaming available on the IMSA and RACER YouTube Channels. Last year’s inaugural race, which culminated in a thrilling green-white-checkered finish, is available to watch anytime here.