PWC: "This season the gloves are off" - Heitkotter

With the start of the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, Bryan Heitkotter can claim his bona fides as professional racecar driver. The opening round will mark his first full season as a GT class-driver behind the wheel of the AE Replay XD Nissan GT Academy Nissan GTR GT3. In fact, he made the leap from GTA, a class for non-professional drivers, to GT for professional drivers, after his podium finish at Mid-Ohio last year with three race weekends still to go. His points carried over, and he was classified in the final tally as 10th in the GT Driver's Championship.

"For sure this season the gloves are off," says Heitkotter. "Last season I started off in GTA and sometimes the qualifying groups were split, which meant I would start quite far back in the field and have to work my way forward. It's a big challenge in a field that's so competitive with races that are just under an hour long.

"And then, after I got the promotion to GT class, I played the role of the 'good teammate' and did what I could to protect James Davison's chance for a championship, sometimes at the expense of my own chance within the race," he continues. "Don't get me wrong, I did it gladly as James is an exceptional driver who I've learned a lot from. But this season we start on an even slate, and so may the best man win. However, my first objective is help Nissan win the Manufacturer's championship."

Heitkotter (LEFT) is a product of Nissan's lauded GT Academy. Ahead of Heitkotter, graduates of the program include Lucas Ordonez, Wolfgang Reip and Jann Mardenborough, all of whom have excelled in the various professional and development ranks in which they have competed. Heitkotter is the first American to graduate from the program as part of the class of 2011 at the age of 30.

"I just love to drive," says Heitktotter, who hails from California's Central Valley. "I took a job when I was in my 20s as a parts delivery driver for an auto dealership just so I could drive all day. Then I'd come home and drive Gran Turismo and SIM racing."

In 2011, there were 53,000 GT Academy applicants.

"It wasn't until the second to last day of the whole competition that I ever even thought I'd have a chance to win a spot on the GT Academy team," he recalls. "Really my goal was to show well and hope it would lead to a foot in the door to the world of motor racing."

Heitkotter began racing in the UK immediately after the GT Academy competition, followed by some stints in IMSA's Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. His first full year in ST competition came in 2014.

The big leap came with his Pirelli World Challenge drive with Nissan in the much more powerful and complex GTR GT3. Despite the lack of experience, with both the car and the series, he took to it like a duck to water. But what about the old sophomore jinx?

"Certainly this year will be a little different, but I think it's made easier by the fact that I moved up on merit," muses Heitkotter. "This is going to be an exceptional season in PWC. I think it's safe to say this is one of the most talented fields, at least in recent history. It's also my first year without any real or artificial barriers. It makes it simpler. And, it adds extra incentive."

Spend a little time with Heitkotter and you learn quickly that he's a modest fellow, not prone to touting his own ambitions. Underestimate him at your peril.