Connect with us

WeatherTech Championship

Pole “Made the Difference” in Heinrich’s GTD Pro Title Win

Laurin Heinrich, Ross Gunn on GTD Pro title fight that came down to the wire at Motul Petit Le Mans…

Photo: Porsche

Laurin Heinrich said his class pole position for Motul Petit Le Mans “made the difference” in his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro driver’s title win over Heart of Racing Team’s Ross Gunn.

The German driver clinched the championship in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R by just four points over Gunn, despite finishing the ten-hour endurance race 11th in class and five laps down, while rival Gunn finished on the podium.

The five additional points Heinrich earned over the British driver after a class track record-setting pole lap in Friday’s qualifying played a pivotal role in what became a tight points battle.

“This weekend, the pole position made the difference at the end,” Heinrich told Sportscar365.

“What a year. In the end, it’s decided by four points, and if I think back throughout the season, what are four points? It’s just small decisions to make in qualifying or in a race.

“The IMSA season is long. We did ten races, and it came down to four points. I can think of 100 situations where we could have lost or won four points.

“The margins are so small, and yet you can say four points came from our pole in Daytona or our pole here in Petit.”

After qualifying, Heinrich held a 104-point advantage over Gunn but saw his points lead close considerably after an early race gear shifting issue for co-driver Julien Andlaur dropped ‘Rexy’ down the order following two on track electronic resets and a pit stop to change a steering wheel connector cable.

Five laps down, Henrich’s championship hinged on Gunn’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo not finishing any higher than second, with the Heart of Racing driver ultimately taking the checkered flag in third, despite a late charge in his final stint.

“It was a race where we couldn’t do anything anymore,” said Heinrich.

“We were five laps down, we just had to finish and hope for the best and I think it was a proper test for me and my mind to withstand this because it’s a pure nightmare. It’s horror.

“It’s just driving the car, you can do nothing. My laps would have been enough to fight for the win even at Petit, but you’re five laps down.

“In the end, it was enough. I cannot explain what happened in the cockpit in the last half hour, it was crazy.”

At 23, Heinrich became the youngest driver to win a pro class title in WeatherTech Championship history and just the third driver to win an IMSA championship in their rookie season.

“It was quite special because in the end, I could do nothing,” he said,

“I just brought the car home. Actually, on the last lap, I was going so slow and let two cars pass because it wouldn’t have made a difference, and I was just constantly asking on the radio where the 23 was and how it was going to play out, and once I crossed the line, I’d never seen myself like this, but I completely freaked out.

“I took the fan in the car and I shook it so much that it ripped off, and then I had it in my hand. This was crazy.

“It was incredible and I completely freaked out. I will always remember this. There was a big queue up the pit lane and I had to park on top of the hill under the Michelin bridge coming out of [Turn]10b and I could see the fireworks and even if I was alone it was so romantic and that was really cool.”

Gunn “Was Giving 110 Percent” in Final Stint to Chase Title

Gunn led a Heart of Racing Team 3-4 finish at the checkered flag after attempting to hunt down Daniel Serra’s second-placed finishing No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 and swing the GTD Pro title in his favor.

“I was giving 110 percent,” Gunn told Sportscar365. “I knew that this was the stint that mattered the most. The most important stint of my life and I didn’t quite have enough.

“Petit is such a special race and it really did go down to the wire. 
We got a little present early on in the race with the issue for the Porsche and we couldn’t quite capitalize on it.”

After the race’s final restart with just over half an hour remaining, Gunn consistently reeled off best-in-class laps to clear traffic and close the gap to Serra ahead, ultimately finishing 4.206 seconds behind the Brazilian.

“Unfortunately, I started the stint five cars behind Serra and by the time I’d cleared all of those cars, he was a few seconds ahead,” he said.

“I closed the gap but he’s a phenomenal driver and I found it very difficult to pass and we like to race clean and I was never going to do anything stupid, but unfortunately I just didn’t get close enough.

“Having said that, I’m incredibly proud of this team. They gave us an awesome car, not only this weekend but all season.

“I think the most impressive thing about our year is that we were the only teams to never finish lower than sixth, which shows that we really executed everything we could every race.

“Obviously I’m massively sad right now, but Lauren is, and AO are deserving champions. They were phenomenal all year. Disappointed, but we’ll come back stronger.”

Jonathan Grace is the host of Sportscar365's Double Stint Podcast and a contributor to the web site's IMSA-sanctioned race coverage.

Click to comment

More in WeatherTech Championship