| Klaus Bachler Has Reminded Paddock of His GT Prowess Joining AO Racing May 28, 2025By Tony DiZinnoIMSA Wire Service |
| DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – AO Racing has, deservedly, gotten a lot of ink both physically and digitally for its performance both on- and off-track in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship the last 12 months. Driving-wise, 2024 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) Laurin Heinrich has received equal plaudits. And marketing-wise, an AO story isn’t complete without a mention of either “Rexy,” the primary green dinosaur livery on the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (“Rawr”), or “Roxy,” his pink dinosaur sister that has now won its first race at the TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship. What hasn’t necessarily gotten the attention is AO’s second full-time driver, which became an inadvertent revolving door last season after the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Enter Klaus Bachler, an IMSA veteran for parts of several years, but one who may be on the verge of a breakthrough first title after an on-and-off presence within the WeatherTech Championship for more than a decade. Heinrich and Seb Priaulx won their first two races back-to-back in 2024 in Monterey and Detroit, but roughly a month later Priaulx’s Multimatic commitments took him out of the AO seat for the rest of the season. That opened the door to a round robin of second drivers alongside Heinrich. Bachler, Julien Andlauer and Michael Christensen all sat in alongside Heinrich at various points. Following his first race at VIRginia International Raceway, Bachler made a positive impact with AO Racing and was brought on full-time as the second driver in 2025. |
| “I really like those guys,” Bachler said of the AO contingent. “I’ve known Alessio (Picariello, third driver) and Laurin for quite a bit, and I really like to enjoy it with them and work together. We push each other and we also trust each other, and I think it’s one of the most important points. Because in the end somebody is better in some situation or he’s better in one corner and in the end if we work together, the whole car will be also faster and more successful.” Bachler’s IMSA career has been, as noted, somewhat of a stop-and-start ride. He made his Rolex 24 At Daytona debut as part of a combination Wright Motorsports/Snow Racing Porsche in the 2013 race, the last year of the split between the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series. He’s accumulated 26 WeatherTech Championship starts since from 2014 through Monterey in 2025, but he’s only driven a full season once. In 2023 he raced with Pfaff Motorsports in that team’s last year with Porsche before subsequent campaigns fielding a McLaren and now, a Lamborghini. After winning the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 title with two wins and six podiums in eight races in a Manthey-run Porsche, Bachler is back on U.S. soil in 2025. He’ll also saddle up in a Manthey Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “After 2023, it’s so good to come back here for a full season,” he said. “I did the WEC last year with the LMGT3 championship. This is something I was feeling and was managing it last year. It’s so good to be here… I wanted to come back to IMSA; 2023 was rough… We won Sebring, but the rest was quite tricky. I’m fully motivated and Laurin and AO want to repeat the championship from last year.” |
| He’s already won more in three GTD PRO races in 2025 – twice – than he had in IMSA the rest of his career prior. The 2023 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring GTD PRO class triumph was his first IMSA victory. “Daytona was a bit of an unlucky situation before the end when we lost the front bumper,” Bachler said. “But that’s how it is in racing, especially in IMSA as the competition is hard. I would say this situation made us just stronger as a group, as a team. We really started to feel fresh, fully motivated and so positive. We also know it’s still seven races to go and every weekend is a new start.” Bachler heads to Detroit as a fan of street circuits. His street course debut came at the Norisring in 2012. He said he loves the pressure cooker that comes with these tracks. “Honestly I fell in love with them when I went to Monaco for Porsche Supercup,” he explained. “For me, I’d love to have more street circuits. We have Long Beach and Detroit. Monaco and Macau are hard ones. On these tracks, you go to the limit. If you make a mistake, the weekend is done.” Heinrich and Bachler have won two straight GTD PRO races and lead Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims by 70 points in the championship. Each of Garcia, Sims and Heinrich has won an IMSA championship and if “Rexy” – or “Roxy” – keeps up current form, Bachler may well win one too. Watch the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Peacock, with global streaming via the IMSA Official YouTube channel and IMSA.TV. |
