Laurin Heinrich recalled the purpose of fuel-saving with BMW’s Max Hesse in their fight for the GTD Pro class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
The reigning GTD Pro drivers’ champion recounted his battle with Paul Miller Racing’s #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO driver Max Hesse in the final stages of the second 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship round.
Both of the 23-year-old German drivers utilised a fuel-saving driving approach in order to reach the checkered flag amidst their lead fight.
“Yeah, to be honest I had a bit of a different approach,” he said in the post-race press conference.
“… Both of us knew it would be a fuel race. Both of us were fuel-saving.
“I like fuel saving. I think it suits my driving style.
“… My approach was to not wait too long, maybe already take the first opportunity I get.
“Maybe catch him a bit off-guard or by surprise.
“Also, I mean, I made the experience last year in the last hour of the race, many things can go wrong by taking too much risk or others just defending or taking too hard.
“I didn’t want to spend too much time fighting because in the end it’s also a high risk.
“Yeah, I think it worked quite well to just take the first opportunity I got [to overtake]. I have to give it to him. I mean, he played safe.
“We are both young Germans.
“We are actually both part of the motorsports in Germany, so we are both supported by the ADAC in Germany.
“It was cool to actually fight with him for the first time on the track between each other.
“I hope we going to have some more fights in our career against each other.
Paul Miller Racing’s gamble falls short
Paul Miller Racing gambled with underfueling and running a lesser stint count when the 12 Hours of Sebring entered the final racing hour, with Heinrich having made his key move for the lead on Hesse 10 minutes prior.
This was in anticipation of a caution period where they could pit under such circumstances in addition to the fact they would retain track position.
With a lack of time to count on a definite caution, they pitted the #48 BMW for splash-and-dash with 50-minutes remaining – just five minutes before the race’s eighth and final caution deployed.
It was for Scott Andrews’ #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3 who suffered a left-rear puncture, thus part of his tyre’s debris displaced on the back-straight.
Heinrich had both the #48 and #1 BMWs behind him in the final sprint to the finish.
With 23-minutes remaining, he set the fastest lap of the race in the GTD Pro category before Hesse, setting near-identical lap times, did the same.
Heinrich returned the favour with the Sebring GTD Pro lap record, 2:00.451, and increased the gap to 4.371 seconds at the finishing line.
READ MORE: ‘Rexy’ charges to GTD Pro 12H Sebring victory after closing sprint
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