Heinrich’s IMSA title bid gets a boost with Road America podium

JDC-Miller MotorSports’ third GTP podium of 2026 has breathed new life into Laurin Heinrich’s bid to win the championship, following his second-place finish in Road America, and the first retirement of the year for main rival Jack Aitken.

To get there, the trio of Heinrich, Tijmen van der Helm, and Kaylen Frederick had to claw their way back from the rear of the field and avoid the many major incidents that unfolded in Sunday’s six-hour slugfest.

“It was quite a turnaround in the race, I would say!” Heinrich said post-race. “It looked like it would be a difficult day, but I’ve learned in IMSA racing, the race has to come towards you, it’s not always only down to you. Today was one of those days.”

The No. 5 Porsche 963 overcame three separate drive-through penalties during the race: Speeding in the pit lane the first time, then a pit work violation for having crew members work on the car from behind the wall, and then a collision with the eventual race-winning No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R.

Then in the last hour, Heinrich had to serve a mechanical black flag given to the No. 5 Porsche for a damaged front end, which had seemingly written off any chance of a result for JDC-Miller MotorSports. Instead, a tumultuous final hour where three other GTP cars crashed from higher positions – including Aitken’s No. 31 Cadillac – opened the door for a podium finish.

“It was a little less exciting in the cockpit in terms of making up positions,” Heinrich admitted. “But I think the team did a great job to bounce back from the penalties we had (for speeding in the pit lane, then for a pit work violation, and then for a collision with the No. 10 WTR Cadillac).

“And the mechanical black flag which was for quite substantial damage; I had a hole in the nose, so I got a lot of air in the cockpit. And then 10, 15 laps later, there was so much pressure in the cockpit that the passenger door popped open! It felt like a submarine exploded. So I’m happy I could continue for a few more laps until the pit window opened. We fixed the car and had to some good restarts, kept the head cool, and obviously, taking the podium is good for the championship.”

The black and gold No. 5 Porsche finished second, a one-position upgrade given after a post-race time penalty was handed down to the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie.

That second-place run plus the retirement for the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac brought the unofficial gap between Aitken and Heinrich down to just 108 points (100 points covers the difference between finishing first and sixth) with only two races remaining. However, IMSA is still investigating the late-race incident between Aitken and Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Kévin Estre, which may lead to further sanctions.

Heinrich continued, “It sounds like it was gifted, but in the end, it was not. If everyone around you loses their head, and you manage to keep it…that’s endurance racing.

“For sure, it was a great team effort. I think the team did most of the part for us to be on the podium today, which I’m really thankful for. And it proves once again what JDC-Miller MotorSports is capable of.

“In terms of the championship, it was a good day,” he added. “Despite the fact there were still three races to go, in IMSA, it’s never over until it’s over – it was quite significant, for sure.

“I think with Indy now being a sprint race, we’ve seen there’s a lot which can happen. And we all know Petit (Le Mans) is Petit. I won’t give up. I will push hard. I will do the last two races with two different teams, which is an interesting dynamic. But it’s two good teams, and I’m always happy to race for them.”

Heinrich’s last start with JDC-Miller MotorSports will be at the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before Heinrich reunites with Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.

And on the team side, Minnesota-based JDC-Miller took a podium at Road America, its “home race”, for the first time since 2018 when Misha Goikhberg and Stephen Simpson drove the team’s ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 to second place overall.

The team currently sits fifth in the IMSA GTP Teams’ Standings through the combined efforts of its team, and its cast of drivers, including its only constant throughout the year (and indeed, throughout JDC-Miller’s entire run as a Porsche customer GTP team), the young Dutchman van der Helm.

“The last four weekends especially have been unbelievable,” said the soft-spoken van der Helm. “I’ve been with this team for four years, and we’ve been working as hard as possible to finally get a bit more to the podium side, and sometimes even a chance of winning.

“It has been a positive ride. Of course, it took some time, but we got there. And I think we’ll keep it positive also for the next couple of races.”