Heinrich on “New Challenge” of Co-Driver Rotation at AO Racing

Photo: Jordan Lenssen/Porsche

Laurin Heinrich said he’s adapting well to having a rotation of co-drivers with him in AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, amid his and the team’s GTD Pro championship lead.

Heinrich and the Gunnar Jeannette-led organization have been out front in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship standings since the German driver and then co-driver Seb Priaulx won in the fourth race of the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

Priaulx, who was due to complete the season in the No. 77 Porsche, was forced to stand down from the program mid-season due to Multimatic testing commitments, resulting in an assortment of Porsche-contracted drivers joining Heinrich.

Julien Andlauer teamed with Heinrich for a fourth place class finish at Road America earlier this month, while Klaus Bachler is sharing the ‘Roxy’ liveried Porsche this weekend with the 22-year-old.

“Obviously it’s not easy to have a different co-driver but I’m really happy with the ones I’ve got,” Heinrich told Sportscar365.

“Undoubtedly Seb did a really good job in the beginning of the season. He had to leave because of other commitments, which I support him and fully understand.

“That didn’t leave us in the best situation needing to find a new co-driver, which is not easy in the middle of the season because everyone has to have schedules and is busy.

“I know Julien from being a Porsche driver as well, and Klaus. But in the end, these are my first races with them. I never raced with them as a teammate before.

“It’s a very new challenge. To be honest, I also like it because I get to know many different characters of drivers. For me it helps develop me further to get along and out of the box.

“Now, especially if it’s Klaus, he’s very experienced [in the U.S.]. He did a GTD Pro program last year. He knows the tracks and the ruleset, which is quite unique coming from Europe.

“He speaks German as well, which is also nice for me.”

With a 76-point lead over Heart of Racing Team’s Ross Gunn in the GTD Pro standings heading into the final three WeatherTech Championship races of the year, Heinrich said the stretch to the finish is all about maximizing the most of the package.

“[This weekend] is the only GT-only round, so it’s a bit of a different dynamic as we’re fighting for the overall win and there are no prototypes flying past you on the straight,” he said.

“It’s a bit more of a style of racing we’re used to from last year because I raced in DTM and GT World Challenge [Europe], which are GT3-only races.

“It will be cool but will still be hectic because it’s a very tight GT field this year, especially with more Pro cars in the GTD Pro class.

“Obviously, our mindset and approach stays the same.

“We’ve been leading the championship since Laguna, so early on in the season, and we want to defend that.

“Our approach has always been maximizing what we have. If that means we have a package to win or that means we have a package to finish P6, if we do the best job we can, that’s the most we can do. It’s in our hands.

“I think the team has done a really good job up until now with that. We maximized every race we had.

“The team’s had a perfect execution and I think that’s the key in the last races, to manage that, not do mistakes on the driving side or team side.”

One benefit Heinrich will have in the final two races of the season is previous track knowledge.

“I didn’t know any tracks [this season] up until Indy and Road Atlanta, so I think towards the end of the season maybe that’s a small advantage on what can help me personally,” he said.

“I was on pole last year at the Indy 8 Hour and I did the Carrera Cup races at Road Atlanta in 2022, where I was also on pole and won the race.

“I have good memories for Indy and Road Atlanta, so it’s good to for once not have a brand new track that I have to learn.

“After Watkins Glen, Mosport and Road America, which are maybe tracks that don’t suit our car so well that have been really, really difficult, If I’m honest.

“I hope these last tracks may suit our car a bit better. But it’s hard to say now.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John