First Private Team to Win in New GTP Era Punches Above its Weight
By John Oreovicz
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Arguably the most compelling storyline in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is Laurin Heinrich’s unlikely challenge for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) driver’s championship. In his first full season racing top-level prototypes, the 24-year-old German is locked in a battle with Whelen Cadillac’s Jack Aitken, with 118 points separating the pair with two races remaining.
When Heinrich and Dutchman Tijmen van der Helm drove the No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 to victory at the StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May – the first win for a ‘privateer’ team against the powerful factory efforts since the start of IMSA’s modern GTP era in 2023 – it was widely seen as a sensational, feel-good outcome.
But the comparatively small team based out of Savage, Minnesota and its youth-oriented driver lineup have kept the momentum going. Heinrich and van der Helm, 22, were joined by 24-year-old Kaylen Frederick (an American of German descent) to score a third-place finish in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International in June before recently notching another podium by placing second at the Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America in early August.
Heinrich entered 2026 knowing he would compete only in the three longest rounds of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup as the third driver alongside Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. The talented trio promptly opened the season by claiming the GTP and overall wins at the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway.
A few days before the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in early April, it was announced that Heinrich would partner van der Helm in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Porsche for five additional WeatherTech Championship races this year – all but Watkins Glen, for which Heinrich had a prior Porsche commitment to race in the Spa 24 Hours. Then when van der Helm and Heinrich won at Laguna Seca, thrusting Heinrich into the GTP drivers points lead – Porsche shifted some worldwide driver lineups to allow Heinrich to compete in the Sahlen’s Six Hours for JDC-Miller and give him a full shot at the championship.
The big points swing at Road America – where Aitken and the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R and Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 crashed late in the race, boosting the No. 5 JDC-Miller Porsche to second place – brought Heinrich back into championship contention after he fell 203 points behind Aitken following the No. 31 Cadillac’s victory at Watkins Glen.
It was the culmination of a crazy six-hour race that at one point saw the No. 5 Porsche receive a mechanical black flag when its right-side door flew open.
“It felt like a submarine exploded!” Henrich exclaimed.
“It looked like it would be a difficult day,” he added. “But sometimes, what I learned in IMSA racing, the race has to come towards you. It’s not always only down to you. You have to realize that if you have the chance to do something by yourself, you have to take it. But if you don’t have the chance to do it by yourself, also you shouldn’t force it. Today was one of these days. We fixed the car in the pit window, had some good restarts, kept our head cool, and obviously taking the podium is good for the championship.”
Success at Last
Van der Helm has been part of the JDC-Miller MotorSports GTP effort since it joined the WeatherTech Championship grid in mid-2023. After riding out a tough 2025 season that was topped by a sixth-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, the young Dutchman is thrilled to see results finally coming the team’s way.
“The last four race weekends have been unbelievable,” van der Helm said. “I’ve been with this team for four years and we’ve been working as hard as possible to get a bit more to the podium side, sometimes even the chance of winning. It’s been a positive ride.
“Of course, it took some time,” he added. “We got there, and we’ll keep it positive for the next couple races that are left.”
The Road America podium was especially gratifying for JDC-Miller MotorSports founder and team principal John Church, who counts the Wisconsin venue about a five-hour drive from the team shop as his home track.
JDC-Miller has now claimed five victories in IMSA competition across multiple prototype classes and continues to solidify its reputation as a “giant-killer.” The Laguna Seca win was as important for the team as it was popular to the outside world.
“Did it change my life? Well, after the last couple years we’ve had it probably did change my life!” Church said with his customary humor. “There were a lot of dark days the last year or so, where you wonder, ‘Why am I putting myself through this beating on a regular basis?’ But it was actually validating for everybody. And there’s no question that’s probably the thing I’m most proud of.
“At the same time, I’m relieved, because we continue to invest in this program and every time you do that, it’s a bit of a gut check,” he continued. “But I always kept going because I believed in our program and our process, and the people in our program. Difficult as it was, oftentimes, we knew we had a good program, it’s just that all the pieces needed together at once. Now this year, we’ve kind of gotten to that point and continue to build on it. It makes a huge difference.”
Youth Movement
Perhaps even more impressive than the success itself, JDC-Miller is beating the factory teams with by far the youngest driver lineup in any form of prototype racing in the world.
Whether he wins the 2026 GTP championship or not, Heinrich has already been promoted to the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport team for 2027.
“It’s fun, because they’re all young and hungry and want to impress,” Church remarked. “To be able to do that with a young driver lineup means a lot, because you obviously want to continue that relationship down the road and keep it going. We’re having a good year in the championship and trying our best to help Laurin out there. Anything we can do to help him and support the Porsche brand, we’re trying as hard as we can.”
There’s a short break in the schedule for IMSA’s prototype classes, meaning Heinrich’s next race is in Japan at the Suzuka 1000km, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) for AO Racing in partnership with Absolute Racing. Heinrich won the 2024 IMSA Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) championship in an AO Porsche.
He’ll be back in the No. 5 JDC-Miller 963 for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sept. 18-20, then hopes to be in contention for the GTP championship when he returns to the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche for the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sept. 30 – Oct. 3.
“Let’s see how things shake out,” Heinrich said. “Who would have thought I would fight for the championship? I didn’t even expect to do the full season! So, I am happy in the situation I am in. I’m happy with the races we pulled off together with JDC, which is a team with an upward trajectory. I can feel the momentum is still carrying. I’ve enjoyed the journey. It’s been a cool experience so far and I hope we can carry on like that.
“(The points deficit to Aitken) is quite substantial, two races to go,” he added. “Indy now being a sprint race, we’ve seen there’s a lot which can happen. We all know Petit is Petit. I won’t give up. I will push hard and do the last races with two different teams, which is an interesting dynamic. It’s two good teams, and I’m always happy to race a Porsche.”