When the DTM held its season opener in Oschersleben this past weekend, not many would have bet on Tim Heinemann emerging as the championship leader from the two races - but two second places on his series debut put the 25-year old on top of the standings. It is a high point of a career saved by sim racing.
Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
Making his first appearance in Germany's premier sprint racing series, Heinemann immediately made his mark in the first of two races at Oschersleben, starting in seventh but gaining two positions at the start already. Even after having to hand back fourth to Jack Aitken after his overtake on the Brit was deemed too aggressive, Heinemann continued his upward trajectory and finished on the podium on his debut. The manoeuver on Aitken "was definitely not the smartest move, but if you want to play with the big boys, you simply have to take risks."
Heinemann (l.) and Engelhart celebrated a 1-2 for Toksport WRT and a podium sweep for Porsche in race 2 of the DTM season opener in Oschersleben. Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
Just a day later, Heinemann proved that his result was not a fluke by putting his Porsche 911 GT3 R on the second step of the podium again - and unlike in race 1, which was won by Franck Perrera in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2, this meant a 1-2 for not just Porsche, but Toksport WRT as well as Christian Engelhart crossed the line first. Thomas Preining and Dennis Olsen even made it a quadruple victory for the legendary manufacturer. "What a brilliant Sunday for Porsche and a great race for Toksport WRT", rejoiced the 2020 ADAC GT Masters champion.
Heinemann did show promise in his karting days, winning the 2009 Rotax Max Junior Club championship - but as is often the case in racing, money is the decisive factor for progressing to the next step. Instead, Heinemann took to virtual racing, which would prove to be an important decision a few years down the road.
The list of successes on virtual racing tracks grew quickly: Following his 2011 RaceRoom Challenge victory, Heinemann continued to be one of the best sim racers in RaceRoom, winning the ADAC SimRacing Trophy in 2014 and 2015, taking the DTM Virtual title in 2015, and taking successive titles in the AMG eRacing Competition. Additionally, Heinemann is the 2021 European Digital Motorsport Cup champion as well as the 2020 German RaceRoom Championship winner.
For 2023, Heinemann signed with Toksport WRT to drive a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the DTM. Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
His 2023 DTM Porsche as well as his race suit bears "From Sim to DTM" branding, highlighting the long way Heinemann has come to fulfill his dream of becoming a racing driver. A big achievement - but leading the DTM standings after the first weekend of the season probably would not have been on anyone's mind when the series headed to Oschersleben. Is Heinemann's victory just a matter of time? It could be - considering that without the penalty in the first race, he might have already gotten it.
Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
Making his first appearance in Germany's premier sprint racing series, Heinemann immediately made his mark in the first of two races at Oschersleben, starting in seventh but gaining two positions at the start already. Even after having to hand back fourth to Jack Aitken after his overtake on the Brit was deemed too aggressive, Heinemann continued his upward trajectory and finished on the podium on his debut. The manoeuver on Aitken "was definitely not the smartest move, but if you want to play with the big boys, you simply have to take risks."
Heinemann (l.) and Engelhart celebrated a 1-2 for Toksport WRT and a podium sweep for Porsche in race 2 of the DTM season opener in Oschersleben. Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
Just a day later, Heinemann proved that his result was not a fluke by putting his Porsche 911 GT3 R on the second step of the podium again - and unlike in race 1, which was won by Franck Perrera in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2, this meant a 1-2 for not just Porsche, but Toksport WRT as well as Christian Engelhart crossed the line first. Thomas Preining and Dennis Olsen even made it a quadruple victory for the legendary manufacturer. "What a brilliant Sunday for Porsche and a great race for Toksport WRT", rejoiced the 2020 ADAC GT Masters champion.
"Still a bit surreal"
Meanwhile, Heinemann could hardly believe his successful debut. "We couldn't have imagined that it would work so well. I'm super happy with my performance and that I'm leaving Oschersleben as the championship leader - that still sounds a bit surreal to me." Considering the career path of the two-time DTM Trophy champion (2020 & 2022), this is hardly surprising.Heinemann did show promise in his karting days, winning the 2009 Rotax Max Junior Club championship - but as is often the case in racing, money is the decisive factor for progressing to the next step. Instead, Heinemann took to virtual racing, which would prove to be an important decision a few years down the road.
The list of successes on virtual racing tracks grew quickly: Following his 2011 RaceRoom Challenge victory, Heinemann continued to be one of the best sim racers in RaceRoom, winning the ADAC SimRacing Trophy in 2014 and 2015, taking the DTM Virtual title in 2015, and taking successive titles in the AMG eRacing Competition. Additionally, Heinemann is the 2021 European Digital Motorsport Cup champion as well as the 2020 German RaceRoom Championship winner.
Sim racing success revives real career
These successes led to testing days in real GT4 and GT3 cars, where Heinemann impressed a certain Bernd Schneider on one occasion, being very close to the five-time DTM champion's lap times. Aided by Schneider, Heinemann found his way back to real motorsport, entering the GT4 European Sprint Cup in 2018, ADAC GT4 Germany in 2019 and then the DTM Trophy in 2020. He moved up to GT3 vehicles in 2021 and has raced in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race in a KTM X-Box GTX and GT2, also competing in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie since 2022.For 2023, Heinemann signed with Toksport WRT to drive a Porsche 911 GT3 R in the DTM. Image credit: Porsche Newsroom
His 2023 DTM Porsche as well as his race suit bears "From Sim to DTM" branding, highlighting the long way Heinemann has come to fulfill his dream of becoming a racing driver. A big achievement - but leading the DTM standings after the first weekend of the season probably would not have been on anyone's mind when the series headed to Oschersleben. Is Heinemann's victory just a matter of time? It could be - considering that without the penalty in the first race, he might have already gotten it.