Laurin Heinrich: “It’s a compliment that everyone is afraid of me”

With Porsche Penske Motorsport to start 2026, the German will contest the sprint rounds and Road America with JDC-Miller MotorSports

Laurin Heinrich is adjusting quickly to a new change of scenery at this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

After contesting - and winning - the opening two endurance rounds in IMSA with Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM), the 24-year-old German was, moreless, loaned out to privateer JDC-Miller MotorSports to co-drive the #5 Porsche 963 with Tijmen van der Heim. And it didn’t take long to get acclimated as Heinrich set the fastest pace in opening practice in his first-ever trial at the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.

Prior to opening practice, several drivers expressed to Motorsport.com their attention is on Heinrich and JCD-Miller MotorSports as a major contender this weekend, a surprising statement as he’s only made two starts in IMSA’s top flight GTP category, along with a Hypercar appearance last year’s final round in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“It's a compliment that everyone is afraid of me because in the end I did only three races, never been to this place and working obviously with the customer team,” Heinrich told Motorsport.com.

“Everyone else is with more or less a factory team, so I take it as a compliment. But yeah, we've shown that we have great potential. The team is also working well. I'm surprised every time I jump in their car because it's prepared really well.”

Heinrich, who is co-leader of the points standings with PPM teammates Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr, will contest all the sprint rounds and the Road America endurance race with JDC-Miller MotorSports. He will miss the Watkins Glen round due to a clash with the 24 Hours of Spa, but is set to return to #7 PPM entry for the season finale at Road Atlanta.

The other reason several competitors have highlighted Heinrich and JDC-Miller’s Porsche is because of adjustment to the Balance of Performance (BoP) made prior to the race weekend. With JDC-Miller opting to not run the new Evo update and stay with last year’s package, they were not hit as hard as PPM’s factory squad that finished a dominant 1-2 in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

JDC-Miller MotorSports was given a different BoP, adding just an additional 5 kg to total 1,060 kg; and were hit with a 1.7 percent first stage reduction and 1.1 percent for the second stage. Meanwhile, PPM were handed a weight increase of 45 kg for an unprecedented total of 1,100 kg, along with a 5.4 percent reduction in first stage power and 2.9 percent for the second stage.

“I think the Porsche 963 has proven that it's a very versatile car and even despite us having the previous generation or the 2025 package, I'm still confident that in the end this is a race where it doesn't only come down to pure pace but also more about execution,” Heinrich said.

“So I'm confident because in the end I have a strong team around me who I truly believe that we can have a great execution and hopefully score a good result.”