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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: DHH Making Splash In America, Europe
ALMS regular and recent Road America class winner David Heinemeier Hansson targets World Championship victory in Sunday's Six Hours of Silverstone...
David Heinemeier Hansson, right, rejoins OAK Racing for another stab in a FIA WEC win this weekend, teaming with Bertrand Baguette, left, and Dominik Kraihamer. (Photo: John Dagys)
One of the storylines of 2012 has not only been the explosion of LMP2 as a category, but the rapid development of few gentlemen drivers in the cost-capped Pro-Am prototype ranks, including David Heinemeier Hansson.
The renowned programmer-turned racer has enjoyed a breakout rookie year in the American Le Mans Series, taking two class victories in his Conquest Endurance Morgan-Nissan, the most recent coming just last Saturday at Road America.
This weekend, Heinemeier Hansson is again at the wheel of a Morgan-Nissan, but this time it’s OAK Racing’s LMP2-class contender, teaming with Bertrand Baguette and Dominik Kraihamer in the same car that took victory in last month’s Six Hours of Donington ELMS round.
It marks his third start of the season for the French squad, having contested the FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Le Mans, and leading the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic in the 32-year-old Dane’s debut.
"I've been really fortunate and lucky,” Heinemeier Hansson told SPEED.com. “I had programs lined up that may have been [decent] programs if they had happened, but through all sorts of good luck and good connections, I think I've landed with the best combination of packages.”
"I've been able to grow with the Conquest team. They were a new team to the ALMS and I was a new driver to the ALMS. So we [gelled] together really nicely, which helped me progress faster. Being there from the beginning, you have the chance to really influence matters a lot more.
"Through that, getting the connection with OAK has been great. It's always hard to know at the beginning of the year. If you look at last year's results for the OAK cars, they weren't necessarily spectacular on pace.
"This year, everything has just come together. They now finally have a car that's one of the best cars and they have the experience of gelling for the past three years.
“There's nothing I would change. That's a pretty rare situation to be in. Every other racing situation I've been in, there's always been some [compromise]. There really isn't anything I'd change with the setup I'm in now. It's a great situation to be in.”
Despite his impressive pace, Heinemeier Hansson realizes he has no easy road ahead as he pursues his first World Championship class victory in what’s a stacked 15-car LMP2 field for Sunday’s six-hour enduro.
“If you look at any sports car racing [series], the [LMP2] fields we now have in WEC is staggeringly good,” he said. “It's almost like there's an arms racing going on with drivers and teams in trying to get the best of the best. It just means it's really fun competition.
“While sometimes in the ALMS, we could sail to a win. That's not going to happen here. Five cars can have problems and you're not even going to sail to a win then. If you win a WEC or get on the podium, it's because you deserved it.”
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
The renowned programmer-turned racer has enjoyed a breakout rookie year in the American Le Mans Series, taking two class victories in his Conquest Endurance Morgan-Nissan, the most recent coming just last Saturday at Road America.
This weekend, Heinemeier Hansson is again at the wheel of a Morgan-Nissan, but this time it’s OAK Racing’s LMP2-class contender, teaming with Bertrand Baguette and Dominik Kraihamer in the same car that took victory in last month’s Six Hours of Donington ELMS round.
It marks his third start of the season for the French squad, having contested the FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Le Mans, and leading the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic in the 32-year-old Dane’s debut.
"I've been really fortunate and lucky,” Heinemeier Hansson told SPEED.com. “I had programs lined up that may have been [decent] programs if they had happened, but through all sorts of good luck and good connections, I think I've landed with the best combination of packages.”
"I've been able to grow with the Conquest team. They were a new team to the ALMS and I was a new driver to the ALMS. So we [gelled] together really nicely, which helped me progress faster. Being there from the beginning, you have the chance to really influence matters a lot more.
"Through that, getting the connection with OAK has been great. It's always hard to know at the beginning of the year. If you look at last year's results for the OAK cars, they weren't necessarily spectacular on pace.
"This year, everything has just come together. They now finally have a car that's one of the best cars and they have the experience of gelling for the past three years.
“There's nothing I would change. That's a pretty rare situation to be in. Every other racing situation I've been in, there's always been some [compromise]. There really isn't anything I'd change with the setup I'm in now. It's a great situation to be in.”
Despite his impressive pace, Heinemeier Hansson realizes he has no easy road ahead as he pursues his first World Championship class victory in what’s a stacked 15-car LMP2 field for Sunday’s six-hour enduro.
“If you look at any sports car racing [series], the [LMP2] fields we now have in WEC is staggeringly good,” he said. “It's almost like there's an arms racing going on with drivers and teams in trying to get the best of the best. It just means it's really fun competition.
“While sometimes in the ALMS, we could sail to a win. That's not going to happen here. Five cars can have problems and you're not even going to sail to a win then. If you win a WEC or get on the podium, it's because you deserved it.”
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
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