Porsche Evaluating Heinrich for LMDh Promotion

Laurin Heinrich is under serious evaluation for a promotion to Porsche Penske Motorsport’s roster of LMDh factory drivers, with factory director Urs Kuratle confirming the German is “definitely one of the guys we are looking very closely at” for its 2026 driver lineup.

The 23-year-old, the reigning GTD Pro champion in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, was revealed by Kuratle to have already sampled the Porsche 963 during two separate tests at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Aug. 26-27 and Sept. 2-3.

According to Kuratle, who implied Heinrich is “for sure” under evaluation for an LMDh race seat, the German driver is also set to join Porsche Penske for the end-of-season FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain next month.

“He did some tests with us already in Atlanta and he was in Weissach already in the sim,” Kuratle told Sportscar365.

“He’s doing a very good job at AO in IMSA and Laurin is definitely one of the guys we look at for next year. Very well could be.

“There’s also the rookie test in Bahrain, which he most likely will do.

“It’s not decided yet, finally, the driver lineup for next year, but he’s definitely one of the guys we are looking very closely at. It’s a no-brainer at the end of the day.”

Heinrich spent the vast majority of his racing career climbing up the Porsche ladder, winning the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland title in 2022 before stepping up to GT3 competition.

Last year, he won the WeatherTech Championship GTD Pro title with AO Racing and added a Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring class win last March, while he has also raced in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, Intercontinental GT Challenge, DTM and several other series.

“He’s a Porsche guy; he came up every single step in the Porsche Junior program and that would be a perfect story if we could bring him,” said Kuratle. “Many of the guys have been Porsche juniors and that’s good story.

“It would be a logical step. It’s not decided yet, but it would be a logical step definitely.”

Kuratle: Christensen Return for Bahrain Not Certain

Porsche has carried out a lineup change for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji, with Mathieu Jaminet coming in to replace Michael Christensen aboard the No. 5 car.

A Porsche Penske spokesperson previously explained that the change as a result of testing commitments for Christensen with AO Racing, with the Dane part of a two-day test at Road Atlanta ahead of next month’s WeatherTech Championship season finale.

It will mark the first time since the 2021 6 Hours of Bahrain that Christensen has missed a WEC round.

The Dane served as the third driver in the brand’s GTE-Pro program that year and did not drive during the shorter race as part of the series’ double header finale in the Gulf state.

“Basically we had some discussions about the lineup,” Kuratle said. “We constantly have discussions about the driver lineup and we are in the lucky situation that we have a very close and a very good performing driver lineup.

“That’s the decision management came up with and that’s how we go for here.

“The main priority from Michael’s point of view would have been to drive here. That was a result from the decision.

“It was a management decision. What the main factors to that decision were, we would not like to comment to the public. We decided this way and that’s it.”

Additionally, Kuratle would not confirm whether Christensen will return to Porsche Penske’s lineup for the Bahrain season finale, where the team is expected to return to a three-driver lineup due to the increased race length and high temperatures.

“We will see. We don’t know yet,” Kuratle said about Christensen’s involvement.

“It’s eight hours. The track is maybe physically not the hardest one, but temperature-wise, it’s physically still hard for the race.

“So we will most likely go for the three-driver lineup, but that’s something we will decide as we go there.”