How Laurin Heinrich’s last-lap battle sealed Laguna Seca win

It came down to the final six corners. After 160 minutes of racing at Laguna Seca, the fight for the GTP victory was reduced to a duel between Laurin Heinrich in the JDC-Miller Porsche and Earl Bamber in the Action Express Cadillac, resulting in a fantastic last-lap pass by the German.

The battle was as hard as it gets in IMSA, featuring door-to-door action, tactical braking, and the inevitable «rubbing is racing» moments.

“Earl threw all his experience into the balance,” Heinrich said after the race. “He’s a tough racer. Our fight was hard but fair.” At one point, the two cars made contact as Bamber tried to keep the Porsche behind by artificially slowing down the apex.

“I hit his rear, and his tire started rubbing against the bodywork. There are a few Michelin stickers on my car now. But that’s why we love IMSA racing. It was one of the best fights of my career,” Heinrich laughed.

«I knew what I was doing»

For Earl Bamber, who eventually had to settle for second place, the defensive maneuvers were a necessity rather than a choice.

“I knew what I was doing. He was significantly faster, so I had to slow down at the apex and then get the car straight as quickly as possible. We just had less grip overall,” Bamber said.

Despite the contact and the tire smoke, Bamber took the defeat like a true sportsman. “When I heard he was half a second a lap faster, I knew it would be tough. He just had so much more grip and got past. I think it was a good fight.

From the gravel to the top

SALINAS, CALIFORNIA — MAY 3: #5: JDC-Miller MotorSports, Porsche 963, GTP: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich in victory lane with the winners’ sticker during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 3, 2026 in Salinas, California. (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)

What made Heinrich’s victory even more impressive was the fact that he was essentially out of contention just 90 minutes earlier. A mistake at the Andretti Hairpin sent the #5 Porsche into the gravel, dropping it to fifth place and 20 seconds behind the leader.

“It happens. I think it just shows that we gave 110% today. It’s not easy to drive a GTP car at the limit on this track. I didn’t do it on purpose, of course, but it shows I was giving it my all,” Heinrich told Motorsport.com. Only a few minutes later, the race’s only caution was thrown, leaving Heinrich with only one position lost.

After that, the 24-year old really set off the fireworks. At a short splash-pitstop, the 2025-spec Porsche 963 took over third position, only behind Bamber, who seemed to be in control at that time, and the #25 BMW of Marco Wittmann.

“At first I thought that’s how it would stay, that I’d be stuck behind the BMW. In the end, a gap opened up. Marco fought extremely hard. There was lots of contact, and I think it damaged our car a bit.”

The turning point came when Heinrich realized the Cadillac was struggling. “I saw early on that the Cadillac had to save more fuel than we did and also had higher tire wear. The team really fired me up and told me it was possible. From that moment on, I believed the win was within reach.”

In the end, luck evened out. While Heinrich got stuck in traffic during the penultimate lap, it was Bamber who got held up in the final tour. Heinrich pounced at Turn 4, dived up the inside, and secured a historic first GTP win for JDC-Miller Motorsports.

For Heinrich, Laguna Seca remains a magical place. Having won there twice in GTD Pro with «Rexy», he now maintains a 100 percent win rate at the track. “I love this place. Every time I come here, I feel something special.”

Three races, three wins at Laguna Seca

#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

With this victory, Heinrich maintains an incredible 100-percent win rate at the iconic California circuit. After taking two GTD Pro wins with «Rexy» in previous years, he has now conquered the mountain in the top class as well.

«It just seems to work for me here. This place, I love it to be honest. Every time I come here in the morning and see this track, I feel something special,” Heinrich smiled when asked about his perfect record in Monterey.

While his individual performance was flawless, he was quick to credit the technical advantage provided by the JDC-Miller crew. «This day today, it’s incredible. The team has given us an extremely strong car, extremely well balanced. I think our strength was on tires, which we could really make use of in the last four or five laps.»

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— The Motorsport.com Team