While it’s no doubt been a rapid ascent, jumping from a Porsche Cayman to a LMP2-class Morgan in less than three years, Heinemeier Hansson has proven his ability to quickly adapt to new machinery and has the necessary pace to back it up, according to Long.

"I started working with him [in 2009] and right off the bat, I could tell that he not only had the speed but the intensity and the commitment to take it really seriously,” Long says. “You often don't come across those elements, especially for guys who are so fresh and are just starting out.

Earning a runner-up finish in P2, Heinemeier Hansson and co-driver Martin Plowman have set their sights on the ALMS title. (Photo: Rick Dole/Conquest Endurance)

"David has become a friend and is certainly on a path to being easily one of the top pro-am drivers out there. When you consider his total time in racing, his progression has been huge.”

Proof of that came last weekend at Long Beach, which saw him lead the P2 ranks, running an impressive third overall, in his first dry laps around a street circuit... ever.

While he and Plowman ended up settling for second in the race after a mid-race pit lane penalty and a late stop for a splash of fuel, the duo have their eyes set on the ALMS P2 title, a realistic possibility considering Heinemeier Hansson’s more-than-encouraging pace set in his first two prototype races.

“When I was racing the Evora, we didn't necessarily have a car that could win, so you set your expectations accordingly,” he says. “Now that we have a car that's been proven at Sebring [and Long Beach] that it can be the fastest car on track, there's basically no excuses now."

With upcoming LMP2 debuts at Spa-Francorchamps and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the programer-turned-racer has been hitting the computer simulators, namely iRacing, to help get up to speed in the virtual world in advance of the respective FIA WEC and ALMS rounds.

Along with track days at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill. and the Ascari Race Resort near Seville, Spain, venues he’s a member at, DHH’s rise up the sports car racing ladder has not only come through determination and passion with raw talent, according to Long.

And while his highlight this year will undoubtedly come this June when he straps into OAK’s Morgan-Judd LMP2, hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Danes Kristensen, Jan Magnussen and John Nielsen as class winners at Le Mans, Heinemeier Hansson feels it will only be the beginning of what could be a long future ahead in the sport.

"If it's up to me, I'm racing at Le Mans for the next 20 or 30 years,” he says. “It's not just about having the goal of winning the LMP2 class, although that definitely is a goal.

"Even at Sebring, where we had problems; We lost third gear, we ran out of fuel and dropped an hour behind. But the last two and a half hour stint I did was some of the most fun I ever had in my life.

“It's not just about winning but the whole experience of being in these cars. I don't see me ever growing tired of being at the track."

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at