Racing A Fan Favorite, Heinrich Continues Championship Charge At Road America
Photo courtesy of IMSA/Michael L. Levitt/LAT
By Dennis Krause
In recent years, sports car racing, specifically the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, has seen a resurgence in popularity, both from the fan and manufacturer participation sides. This weekend’s Motul Sports Car Grand Prix at Elkhart Lake’s Road America is no exception.
Between the fan turnout and the drivers and teams appreciation for the challenge of the 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit, the atmosphere for Sunday’s 2-hour, 40-minute sprint race is bound to be electric.
One team that has caught the imagination of IMSA fans is AO Racing. The team fields cars with dinosaur liveries of Roxy and Rexy in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD PRO) and Spike in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2).
With new for 2024 teammate Klaus Bachler, reigning series champion Laurin Heinrich will co-drive, Rexy, the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R this weekend.
“Road America, I mean, definitely driving wise, one of the best tracks in North America, one of my favorite ones. Super quick, long straights, interesting corners, quite challenging, not only for the driver, but also for the team to set up the car ride.
“And yeah, Road America is not only popular by the drivers, but also by the fans. So for us, being part of IMSA WeatherTech is something amazing. We are racing a fan favorite. So for us, I think it's always a bit more extreme. Even last year we raced with Roxy in pink, with my co driver, Julian Andlauer, and we had a good weekend. Generally, the fans, they love Roxy. And this year we're coming with Rexy, actually, for the first time since the team is in GTD PRO.
“So I'm looking forward to that, you know, seeing all all the fans. And I'm sure the team has already planned something special again, at the autograph session, which is, for us drivers, amazing to see how early and how many people are lining up just to see us and the car. And obviously Rexy,”
Rexy at Watkins Gleń International (Photo courtesy of IMSA/Jake Gakstad/Lumen Digital Agency
A relative newcomer to the series, Heinrich won the driver’s championship last year in his first try and is in the fight for the title again this season. According to Heinrich, he never expected to have this level of success in the series this quickly.
“Obviously, I was full of expectations, doing my first season in IMSA or general in North America. But for sure, I mean, you can't go into IMSA and expect you will win it the first time and fighting for it the second time again. It's a tough championship. Everything needs to work perfectly. But I think that's exactly the reason why I wanted to come to IMSA, because in the end, you're fighting the best drivers in GT, the best teams, with many manufacturers engaged on some of the best tracks in the world. So I think as a driver, it’s very appealing.
“And I think also in my situation, was a young driver, I did one year of GT3 racing before in Europe. It's a perfect platform to show what I'm capable of, to show my skills. “Also, because, you know, it's not only a GT only championship, there's also GTP teams there which are in the same race, which also obviously watching the same race. So in the end, it's a good platform for a driver like me and doing sprint races, endurance races, on these difficult tracks in one season. It's just a good opportunity also for me to fine tune my driving and in general my skills.”
The 23-year-old German driver feels with his experience in the last year and a half he’s become a better and more patient racer.
“I think because of my experience, I understand IMSA racing better. You know, when you need to take risks, when not. Last year, I remember, I went into the car in Daytona, my first IMSA race. I went into the car for the first time, I think it was Saturday afternoon, I went out and I started pushing. I was really going for it. But in the end, coming back this year to Daytona, I realized, hey, what you did there didn't make any sense.
“You know, in Daytona, you just need to be there until the last two three hours, and everything before that is just all about staying safe. And for those who have seen it, this year, there was a big crash in the night at the restart in turn one, and I stopped the car on track. I just pulled to the left, pulled over, stopped because I couldn't see anything. There were cars flying from left to right, all over the place. And I think that's really also where I've proven myself that I did a step. I don't think I would have taken this measure at the same place last year. So I'm also proud and obviously, still in the process of improving myself.”
Promoted to a Porsche Contracted Driver status in 2023, Heinrich has his eye on racing a Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) for Porsche in the future.
“Yeah, I think if I wouldn't dream about this, maybe I don't know, for sure I dream of that, and it's my goal to be in one of these cars racing for the Porsche Penske factory team. But currently I'm in the middle of my GTD PRO season. We're still fighting for the championship, and I don't really want to lose the focus. So yeah, for sure, long term goal, but right now, all my focus is on trying to secure back to make championship.”
Bachler (L) and Heinrich (R) with Roxy. (Photo courtesy of IMSA/Perry Nelson/LAT)
The dynamic between Heinrich and Bachler is very strong. Having raced all the tracks on the IMSA schedule for the first time last year, and now coming back to them for a second time, with Bachler, has only helped with their preparation for each race.
“It helps massively. Last year, everything was new, not only the tracks, also the team, the people I'm racing against, my teammates, everyone around me, and this year, staying with AO Racing. I think also speaking about my progression as a driver, I could only progress so well because I had the right people standing behind me. I think you learn always the most when you do mistakes. But the worst thing is if the people who you think stand behind you blame you for your own mistakes. And that's exactly not the case in AO Racing. They're always standing behind me no matter what. This is for me, super important.
“And then, yeah, this year having Klaus on board, this is for me, the cherry on the cake. For me is one of the best, if not the best teammate I've ever had. He has a ton of experience. He's a great guy. Obviously, we speak the same language, no language barrier, which is also good. I was with him (recently) in Austria. We spent some time, we went for dinner, did some sports. So, yeah, we have a really strong bond. And in the end, we have no secrets. We exchanged each other about driving, about anything, basically. And I think that's also why we why we work so well, and in the end, we can just profit off of each other.”
Heinrich and Bachler are currently second in the GTD PRO standings, just 39 points behind the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt & Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3 R driven by Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims. The AO pair have had a couple of run-ins with the Corvette this season. Going forward, how does that change how Heinrich races them?
“Yeah, it's a tough battle. We had some proper fights, but I think that's what IMSA racing is about. It's a hard fought championship, and in the end, if winning the championship is a walk in the park, it wouldn't feel as nice. Right now, like we have big fights every race, obviously we're trying to take points away from each other. It's a bit of an interesting dynamic.
“You know, Corvettes, they have two cars, which you can argue is maybe a bit of an advantage, especially one of these two cars is not really in the championship fight anymore. So, if you want, you can use it a bit here and there, but everything has been, I think, quite fair within the border. So far, I enjoy it. You know, in the end, racing that hard against such good drivers and teams just makes me better and better. And I think that's also what's what racing is all about.”
It’s also what brings the fans back to Road America for IMSA year after year.
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. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.