Earl Bamber Takes No Issues With Late-Race Contact From Heinrich

Coming off the stellar late-race battle when he and Laurin Heinrich locked horns at Laguna Seca with just about five minutes to go, Earl Bamber took no issues with the contact that ensued on the back of his Cadillac when Heinrich clipped the left rear when attempting a pass going into turn 3. 

The contact occurred on the second-to-last lap of the race, leaving Bamber to nurse the rubbing tire while also having to navigate batches of GT traffic, opening the door for Heinrich to make the final pass on the white flag lap heading through turn 4.

Post-race, Bamber had no issues with the tough racing that resulted in the slight damage on his No. 31, chalking it up the end result as of Heinrich coming on like a speed demon flying out of hell equipped with healthier tires in the closing minutes.  

"With about 10 laps to go, the (No.) 5 just appeared out of nowhere and when I heard it was coming at half of a second a lap, I knew it was going to be tough to hold him off,” said Bamber. “I got a couple of good runs through traffic on the last second-to-last lap, but then he just had much more grip than us at the end of the race."

“I raced him hard and fair, but he just got through. It is what it is – another great podium and it was great to race with Laurin. I’ve seen him come up through the ranks with Porsche, and to see him get this win with the No. 5 team is something special.” 

Throughout this era of GTP and Hypercar battles, the Porsche 963 has proven time and again to be extraordinarily light on its tire ware across all tracks and race conditions. When things matter most, the 963 always seems to stretch out the health of its tires when it matters most. It was exactly the case again as Heinrich hunted down Bamber on Sunday.

The stunning victory for JDC-Miller Motorsports marks the first win for a privateer team in this new GTP era, and some (including myself) were various shades of conflicted that the body contact essentially crippled Bamber's ability to fight until the absolute end. However if Bamber doesn't have an issue with the matter then it's hard to do the same as a fan.