Photo: Brandon Badraoui/Lumen Digital Agency/IMSA
By Dennis Krause
Contending for the 2026 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) title when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship rolled off at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January wasn’t in the plan for driver Lauren Heinrich.
Yet, nine months later, here we are heading into next weekend’s 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The 25-year-old German trails Jack Aitken by 147 points going into the season finale. Heinrich is also tied for the lead in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP standings along with his No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer.
That he is even mathematically still in the championship ship fight is not something Heinrich could’ve envisioned at the start of the year.
“For sure, I could not have imagined being in this situation right now because the initial plan was for me to to just do the three races where you need an additional driver on the No. 7 — and then things developed.
“I got the chance to join JDC Miller Motorsports at that time, not for all races because I was due to take part in the 24 Hours of Spa in the GT (Grand Touring) race. So even at that moment, I could not have envisioned being in this situation because I would miss Watkins Glen.
“And now, well, we're here. Who would have thought still fighting for the drivers' championship title, which is a great feat. Driving three different cars, [three wins], six podiums out of eight races so far is great. I've won Daytona and Sebring, which is a dream come true, and also you know, thinking back to the start of the year, where I thought I would only do the long races to win is something crazy, and and I'm really thankful for the chance.
“It has been a wild ride,” Heinrich reflected. “I think I have developed a lot in the process of it. I've become a better driver, a more complete driver, getting all this experience or some prototype racing. Yeah, 147 points behind is not easy to catch up, but we all know Motul Petit Le Mans, anything can happen in that race, and I won't give up until the checkered flag falls.”
Photo: Michael L. Levitt/Lumen Digital Agency/IMSA
It was only after his come-from-behind win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May that Heinrich even thought about a championship possibility.
“It was when I got out of the car in Laguna. Someone told me, "Yeah, you are now leading the championship, and you know that was something I never looked at before. That was, I think, the first wake up where I thought, hey, well, that's crazy. I'm leading in the driver standings alone because obviously I was swapping cars already. And then as soon as the discussion started, what are we going to do with the Watkins Glen Clash? Are we prioritizing the the IMSA title fight? And once the decision was taken, it was game on. And I was trying to to focus as much as I could on on that championship.”
For Heinrich to pull off the improbable at Road Atlanta, it would mean winning the race while Aitken, in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, finishing 10th or 11th. As actor Jim Carrey memorably put it in the 1994 film, Dumb and Dumber “So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
Photo: Brandon Badraoui/Lumen Digital Agency/IMSA
“Yeah, there is a chance,” Heinrich stated, “and this race can be so chaotic. You know, you never know. For me, the goal is pretty clear. I need to win the race. I want to win Petit Le Mans overall. It's one of my career goals, and it's pretty straightforward in terms of the things that I can influence, which is just try to win the race. But obviously, then to win the championship, there needs to be other factors at play which are not in my control. Which means the No. 31 has to finish, yeah, 10s or lower or nines or lower.
“So, yeah, even if we win the race, we're still depending on outside factors which we cannot influence. Which is a fact which is there, but it's not something which I will think too much about it because for me, I better spend my resources up here (pointing to his head) thinking about what I can influence.”
To illustrate how long the odds are of Heinrich pulling off the championship on Saturday, it could all be settled following Friday’s qualifying if Aitken outscores Heinrich’s Porsche by four points.
“Yeah, even I don't know myself yet who will qualify,” Heinrich said, “and if I knew, I think I couldn't tell right now. But yeah, qualifying in IMSA is something which many people forget about. There's not many points at play, but these points can make a difference in the end.
“Throughout the whole year, we do nine qualifyings, which is 10% points of a race. So it's nearly one race that we are doing on top of the race results. So it can make a big difference. Unfortunately, qualifying has not been our strong part this year. But I don't see any reason why we cannot turn that one around.
“And yeah, I can speak from experience because in 2024, the pole that I did was exactly the points we needed to be able to finish one spot lower [at the] end of the race to still clinch the (Grand Touring Daytona PRO) title (in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, and that was the spot we needed at the end. So it can make a difference, and for sure we are mindful of that, but at the same time, come Friday night, we know already if we're fighting for a championship still.”
Heinrich also has the opportunity to do something no one else has done. That is — win the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Motul Petit Le Mans — in the same calendar year.
“Yeah, that would be a tremendous result, especially considering it's my first year in GTP. I really loved racing for the overall wins in all these big races. And to have to already have the opportunity to do that within the same year is something crazy.
“So yeah, all of us, we are already speaking about it, that we want to go out and win that race because it would be a tremendous end to a still successful year. The No. 7 is not in the championship fight anymore. So, the goal of our group as a car is just to go out and and win the race.”
Photo: Michael L. Levitt/Lumen Digital Agency/IMSA
Whether or not he’s hoisting the championship trophy at the end of the night on Saturday, Heinrich can look back at the 2026 season and be proud of what he’s accomplished.
“Yeah, for sure. I compete to win. I want to win the IMSA title. It developed, growing throughout the year as my primary goal, and I'm living for that every day. The first thing I think about in the morning is exactly that, and the last thing I think about going to bed at night is exactly that. So yeah, it would it would mean a lot.
“But still finishing second is a great result. And I will look back still happily and proud to the year we've done.
“At this point, I also wanna thank Porsche for giving me this opportunity to fight for this title. [It] really means a lot to me if the manufacturer also respects the drivers championship title, even if we're more or less just fighting on our own in this title fight.”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute.