Heinrich: Second Place Changes Title Chances “Quite A Bit”

Photo: Porsche

Laurin Heinrich said his rather unexpected second place finish in Sunday’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America, in a race where IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP points leader Jack Aitken crashed out, changes his title prospects “quite a bit.”

The Porsche factory driver entered the six-hour Michelin Endurance Cup round at a 203-point deficit to Aitken, who provisionally scored ninth place points after a race-ending clash with the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre while battling for second in the race.

It resulted in a significant points swing for the German, who is now only 128 points behind the Action Express Racing driver heading into the final two GTP races of the season.

Heinrich and JDC-Miller Motorsports co-drivers Kaylen Frederick and Tijmen van der Helm scored back-to-back podium results, in unlikely fashion, after the team’s 2025-spec Porsche 963 was forced to serve three drive-through penalties, as well as a mechanical black flag when the car’s right-side door blew open in the final hour.

“It was quite a turnaround in the race I would say,” said Heinrich. “It looked like it would be a difficult day. But sometimes, what I learned in IMSA racing, the race has to come towards you.

“It’s not always only down to you. You have to realize that if you have the chance to do something by yourself, you have to take it. If you don’t have the chance to do it by yourself, also you shouldn’t force it.

“Today was one of these days. I would say it’s a little less exciting in the cockpit in terms of making up positions.

“We kept our nose clean, which was great. I think the team did a great job to bounce back from the penalties we had and also the mechanical black [flag], which was quite a substantial nose damage, a hole in the nose.

“[There was] a lot of air in the cockpit. Ten, 15 minutes later there was so much pressure in the cockpit, the passenger door popped open.

“[It] felt like a submarine exploded! We fixed the car in the pit window and had some good restarts. As I said, [we] kept our head cool, and obviously taking the podium is good for the championship.”

Heinrich said the key to their podium finish was “staying cool” amid the chaos around them.

“I said to some people on the podium, it’s my second birthday. It sounds like it was gifted. In the end it was not,” he said.

“If everyone around you loses their head, you manage to keep it, that’s endurance racing. You have to bring it over the line. For sure it was a great team effort.

“I think the team today did most of the part for us to be on the podium, which is great, which I’m really thankful for. Proves once again what we’re capable of.

“In terms of the championship, it was a good day obviously. Jack’s lead was quite big, despite there was three races to go in IMSA. It’s never over until it’s over. But it was quite significant.

“Now a result like this changes quite a bit. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping it was less than 128 points…

“So it’s quite substantial, two races to go. I think Indy now being a sprint race, we’ve seen there’s a lot which can happen. In Petit, we all know Petit is Petit.

“I won’t give up. I will push hard and do the last races with two different teams, which is an interesting dynamic. It’s two good teams. I’m always happy to race a Porsche.”

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