Heinrich looks to defend last year's 2024 GTD Pro crown with AO Racing with a strong year of experience now under his belt in IMSA.
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00:00Alright, so we're here with Loren Heinrich with AO Racing. Loren, it was a big year for you guys last year.
00:05GTD Pro Championship in the first year that the team was in GTD Pro.
00:10So, you know, three race wins, entering second season, you know, a lot of momentum coming into 2025.
00:17Just talk about last season and just kind of navigating to that championship last year.
00:21Yeah, definitely. I mean, if I think one year back, coming here as an IMSA rookie, I never did an IMSA race before.
00:27Also, obviously my first Rolex then.
00:29Yeah, I didn't expect it would turn out to be that good.
00:32I mean, when I tested with the team for the first time, I saw the potential that the team has.
00:38And yeah, then throughout the season, I mean, we really picked up momentum, picked up pace,
00:43had our first win in Laguna Seca, which was amazing.
00:47That was our goal for the season, you know, let's just try to win one race.
00:50But then we won back-to-back Detroit as well.
00:53We're championship leaders. And then we said, OK, we're not going to give this away anymore.
00:57And we managed to keep it. It was really tight at the end.
01:00Every point mattered, literally.
01:02So, yeah, I was over the moon to win the championship.
01:05Now, obviously, coming as champions, I always say the only thing which is harder to win the championship is to defend it, to win the title.
01:13But that's our goal. I think it's going to be incredibly hard.
01:17But the team doesn't relax on the success and still keeps improving, you know, which is the key, I think, to have a successful season.
01:26Always try to still keep improving, even if you're winning.
01:30You can see the team as we have a new driver lineup, super competitive.
01:36Inside the team, some small changes into the right direction.
01:39So I'm really motivated to keep on going and, yeah, can't wait to start the new season now.
01:44There was a lot of changes last year. Mid-season, Seb comes out of the car, you know, some driver changes within the program.
01:50So just talk about kind of, you know, going through that process of, you know, being with different teammates, you know, on certain races and just kind of navigating that.
01:59And then obviously picking up the pace at the end and being able to then finally get that championship at the end.
02:04I imagine for your first season that had to be, I imagine that had to be challenging to deal with some of those changes.
02:09Yeah, the situation was definitely challenging to, yeah, I mean, consistency is key, let's say it like this.
02:16And if you didn't have consistency in our driver lineup, but I had the honor to share the car with a lot of talent, a lot of great drivers from the Porsche family.
02:26Also, then after the driver change with Klaus, Julian and Michael, they have done an amazing job.
02:33Obviously, I knew Michael already from the Rolex and Sebring, so that was great to have him back.
02:38Also Klaus, you know, he's Austrian, so he's a neighbor of Germany.
02:42We speak the same language, so that was cool.
02:45And in the end, they helped us to clinch the title.
02:48So I'm really thankful for AO and Porsche to support us that well in that scenario, which was not easy for the whole team.
02:55But we made the best out of it.
02:57In the end, you can see Klaus is back.
02:59So it helped us a bit with the driver decision for this year.
03:02That's positive, definitely.
03:05And now I'm hoping for more consistency, obviously, in our driver lineup.
03:10But I'm really confident in the package we have.
03:12How big was that pull for you guys at the opener for Daytona?
03:16Just building that momentum.
03:18This program comes into GTD Pro and only its second season in IMSA as a GTD program.
03:24You come in, you guys get that pull.
03:26How big of a confidence boost was that for the squad to be able to get that pull and kind of come in with some confidence heading into 2024?
03:34How big was that?
03:35I mean, let's say like this, the Daytona qualifying, you always need to see a bit with caution.
03:41I think we did a good job and it was definitely rewarding to see that we're not on the back foot.
03:46We are somewhere there.
03:48Obviously, being on pole in Daytona is nice, especially for a new team in GTD Pro.
03:53We quickly found out that in the race we were not as fast as we thought.
03:58Hopefully, that's better this year with the new drive shaft sensors.
04:03But yeah, I mean, seeing that the team has everything it takes to be up front in that competitive field was really good.
04:10And yeah, as you say, a confidence boost, not only for us drivers, but also for every mechanic, every engineer.
04:17It's just something great to see the car up front there.
04:19And 2025, just such a talented lineup for you guys again.
04:23You bring in Dane Cameron, you know, AO Racing brings in Dane Cameron for the LMP2 program.
04:27Obviously, a very experienced Porsche racer in himself.
04:30He's still at PJ Hyatt, obviously, at the front of the wheel there.
04:33And then with your group, great experience as well.
04:37So just talk about having that wealth of knowledge around you, like Dane.
04:41And PJ, obviously, who's the owner of the team, but also races himself.
04:45So just talk about having the wealth of knowledge that you have throughout the program and learning in your second season here.
04:52I mean, as I said, the team keeps improving, which we can see also from the outside this year.
05:00Bringing new names, not only on the driver's side, but also on the engineering side and mechanics side.
05:05Which is great, because in the end, everyone can profit from the knowledge from someone else.
05:11Even if he's, let's say, on the LMP2 program.
05:14You know, we can speak a lot.
05:17Obviously, I worked with Dane also in the LMP2 test at the end of last year, which was an honor for me.
05:22You know, he's IMSA champion in the GTP.
05:25He's a Daytona winner, GTP, so multiple IMSA champion, which is great.
05:29You know, that's definitely something which is on my list as well.
05:33And, you know, just speaking to him, profiting from his knowledge and experience is great.
05:38And, yeah, same on the GT side.
05:41You know, working with Klaus, he's a world champion in WEC.
05:45Alessio also very experienced, not only in GT3, but also in GTLM or GTP even.
05:53So I think we have a really strong group of people.
05:56What is also great is that we are able to work together really well.
06:02In the end, you cannot win the race alone.
06:05And, you know, we just want to be successful.
06:08We follow the same goal.
06:10And we don't want to try to beat ourselves.
06:13We want to beat the competition together.
06:15So I think that's our secret of success.
06:17Coming into 2025, you come in with the championship now.
06:20Last season, many people, even PJ said, you kind of don't know what to expect.
06:24With a privateer program, coming into GTD Pro with how much factory talent there is,
06:28you guys go out and win the championship.
06:30Now you guys are being the hunt, if you will, here for 2025.
06:33How does that change the dynamic here for 2025 in terms of, you know,
06:36from the team, from a driver perspective?
06:38How does that change that dynamic here in 2025?
06:41I mean, definitely being the title defender, let's say it like this,
06:47it's not an easy situation, but in the end, everyone starts at zero now.
06:50So we're definitely not looking back or feeling chased.
06:55We start exactly where we started last year,
06:57just a bit more experienced and stronger, I would say.
07:00So considering that, I feel even more confident than last year, I would say.
07:07I feel better as a driver.
07:09I'm more experienced. I improved myself throughout the season last year.
07:12And now coming back, doing the same all over again, just being better,
07:16makes my life easier, I guess.
07:18But obviously the competition is also not sleeping.
07:21You see the driver lineups this year, the teams, the cars,
07:25everything is better than last year.
07:27So yeah, we also needed to improve to have the chance to hopefully defend our title.
07:31Yeah, GTD Pro, just looking at the lineup as a whole,
07:35it's really the first year in a while that we've seen quality and quantity
07:39within the class.
07:41And now you're seeing 16 cars running this field.
07:44It's going to be a very challenging GTD Pro grid this year compared to years past.
07:48Yeah, for sure.
07:50Seeing all these names, for me it's an honor to race against them
07:53and hopefully beat them.
07:55For me as a relatively young driver, I'm 23 years old,
07:58racing on this level in GT, which I would say is the highest level on the pro side.
08:06It's a big honor. It's a big opportunity.
08:08So I'm really thankful for A.O. and Porsche to put me in their program again.
08:12And as I said earlier, you don't get the chance to defend your IMSA title every year.
08:19So I think it's a big opportunity.
08:21I would really love to defend the title
08:25and show everyone that it was not luck or whatever.
08:29It was just due to pure work and determination.
08:33After year one of the Rolex 24, seeing the spectacle that it is,
08:38obviously the race that it provides in terms of the style of racing and the way it's raced,
08:43how much more comfortable do you feel coming into this year's Rolex 24?
08:47After one year under your belt, seeing the pageantry and seeing what this race brings,
08:51how much more comfortable are you coming into this year's Rolex 24 compared to last year's?
08:56I feel a lot more relaxed, just because I can build on my experience.
09:00I know now how the race builds up, what it comes down to at the end,
09:05and what it takes to be there at the end.
09:08Last year we were close, but yet so far, let's say like this.
09:14I think I'm just more comfortable, more relaxed,
09:16because I know that you win the race in the last hours and not in the beginning.
09:21Obviously, being an IMSA rookie, doing your first stint in Daytona last year,
09:28of course you're excited, of course you push and you think,
09:32I want to do well, I hope we can have a good result.
09:36But in the end, you need to keep your energy for the end, because that's really when it matters.
09:41And until that point, you just need to stay clean and make no mistakes.
09:44So I feel more relaxed because I have this experience from last year.
09:48Absolutely. Well, Loren, thanks so much for your time.
09:50Good luck these next two weeks.
09:53Hopefully you guys will be able to take home some hardware.
09:55I hope so, yeah.