André Emil Heimgartner (born 8 June 1995) is a New Zealand motor-racing driver who currently competes in the Repco Supercars Championship driving the No. 8 Toyota GR Supra for Brad Jones Racing.
Career
Formula racing At 12 years of age, Heimgartner raced in the NZ Formula Vee championship. He became the youngest driver in the world to win a Formula Ford Championship at the age of fifteen when he won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship during the 2010–11 season. He returned to successfully defend his title for the 2011–12 season whilst contesting selected events in the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship. In 2013, he ran in select races in Australian Formula 3.
Touring cars
New Zealand In 2012, Heimgartner entered the inaugural season of the New Zealand-based V8SuperTourer series, driving a Holden VE Commodore run by AV8 Motorsport. He finished the sprint championship in tenth place overall, achieving a best result of fourth place at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park; and seventh place in the endurance championship, with his best finish being fifth place in the Fathers' Day 400 at Taupo Motorsport Park. He was classified eleventh overall at the end of the season.
Heimgartner then moved from AV8 Motorsport to the Melbourne Performance Centre and then Motorsport Networks teams during a four-season period. He went on to become the only driver to compete in every race of the championship over the four-year period. He achieved 15 podium finishes during that period.
Australia
Parallel to his appearances in the V8Supertourer category in 2012, Heimgartner contested the Australia-based Porsche Carrera Cup series at the age of 16. André ran as high as fourth for much of the season before a no fault contact by a competitor caused a DNF. 2013 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, driving an ex-Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon entered by Finance EZI Racing, which entered Heimgartner alongside Josh Hunter as the team's drivers. In 2014, he drove for Matt White in the supercar Dunlop series with three podium finishes.
2013 also saw Heimgartner's first drive in a V8 Supercars Holden Commodore VF. Due to his close association with Paul Morris he got to do co-driver laps in Dean Fiore's No. 88 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport entry at Queensland Raceway replacing Matt Halliday in the dedicated co-driver session.
In 2014, Heimgartner was selected to race the Super Black Racing wildcard entry at the 2014 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 alongside fellow Kiwi Ant Pedersen. Following this performance the team retained him in the teams' full-time category début the following season. 2015 was a formative year for the new Superblack team and was plagued by performance inconsistencies. A best qualifying position of third and numerous top-ten finishes for the 2015 season. Heimgartner's second year in Supercars and severe budget constraints lead to relocation to the minnow LDM team, car performance and reliability issues produced disappointing results.
Endurance racing
In 2013, Heimgartner contested the Bathurst 12 Hour event at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales. Sharing a BMW 335i with co-drivers Anthony Gilbertson and Peter O'Donnell, Heimgartner finished the race first in his class.2013 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour Mount Panorama Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour www.natsoft.com.au Retrieved on 11 February 2013 In New Zealand, Heimgartner, as a 14-year-old, won the Mini Challenge 3-hour endurance classic. As a 16-year-old driving ab RSR Porsche while leading the field by 15 laps, he suffered a terminal mechanical issue ten minutes from the chequered flag. Achieved various successes in endurance competition driving GT3 Porsches for Fastway and Hood. He competed in two seasons of V8 Supertourer endurance competition with Paul Morris as co-driver.
By February 2018, Heimgartner had completed four consecutive Bathurst 1000 endurance events with a best placing of 9th.
Personal life Heimgartner is currently engaged to Jewelry Designer Jemma Boskovich. He was in a relationship with Renee Gracie between 2014 and 2017. The Kiwi is now living in Perth, Western Australia.
Racing record
Career results
Season Series Position Car Team 2008–09 New Zealand Formula First Series 13th Sabre 2009–10 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 6th Stealth Van Diemen 2010–11 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 1st Mygale 10 Motorsport Solutions 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship 24th Mygale SJ08A Ford Team BRM 2011–12 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 1st Mygale SJ10 Motorsport Solutions 2012 Australian Carrera Cup Championship 7th Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Team Kiwi Racing V8 SuperTourers Championship 10th Holden VE Commodore AV8 Motorsport 2013 Australian Drivers' Championship 14th Mygale M08 Mercedes-Benz Erebus Academy Formula 3 V8 SuperTourers Championship 7th Holden VE Commodore MPC Motorsport Dunlop V8 Supercar Series 20th Ford FG Falcon Finance EZI Racing 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 50th Ford FG Falcon Super Black Racing Dunlop V8 Supercar Series 5th Finance EZI Racing 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 24th Ford FG FalconFord FG X Falcon Super Black Racing 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 25th Holden VF Commodore Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 46th Holden VF Commodore Brad Jones Racing 2017–18 New Zealand Touring Cars - Class one 1st Toyota Camry Richards Team Motorsport 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 17th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 16th Nissan Altima L33 Kelly Racing CarSales TCR Australia Series 13th Subaru WRX STI TCRHolden Astra TCR 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship 14th Ford Mustang GT Kelly Racing 2021 Repco Supercars Championship 12th Ford Mustang GT Kelly Grove Racing 2022 Repco Supercars Championship 10th Holden ZB Commodore Brad Jones Racing 2023 Repco Supercars Championship 7th Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Super2 Series results Super2 Series results Year Team No. Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Position Points 2013 Finance EZI Racing 64 Ford FG Falcon ADER1 ADER2 BARR3 BARR4 BARR5 TOWR6 TOWR7 TOWR8 QLDR9 QLDR10 QLDR11 WINR12 WINR13 WINR14 BATR15 BATR16 SYDR17 SYDR18 20th 677 2014 MW Motorsport 26 Ford FG Falcon ADER1 ADER2 WINR3 WINR4 BARR5 BARR6 TOWR7 TOWR8 QLDR9 QLDR10 BATR11 SYDR12 SYDR13 5th 1314
Supercars Championship results Supercars results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Position Points 2014 Super Black Racing Ford FG Falcon ADER1 ADER2 ADER3 SYMR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 WINR7 WINR8 WINR9 PUKR10 PUKR11 PUKR12 PUKR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 HIDR17 HIDR18 HIDR19 TOWR20 TOWR21 TOWR22 QLDR23 QLDR24 QLDR25 SMPR26 SMPR27 SMPR28 SANR29 BATR30 SURR31 SURR32 PHIR33 PHIR34 PHIR35 SYDR36 SYDR37 SYDR38 50th 144 2015 Super Black Racing Ford FG Falcon ADER1 ADER2 ADER3 24th 1068 Ford FG X Falcon SYMR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 BARR7 BARR8 BARR9 WINR10 WINR11 WINR12 HIDR13 HIDR14 HIDR15 TOWR16 TOWR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 QLDR20 SMPR21 SMPR22 SMPR23 SANQR SANR24 BATR25 SURR26 SURR27 PUKR28 PUKR29 PUKR30 PHIR31 PHIR32 PHIR33 SYDR34 SYDR35 SYDR36 2016 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden VF Commodore ADER1 ADER2 ADER3 SYMR4 SYMR5 PHIR6 PHIR7 BARR8 BARR9 WINR10 WINR11 HIDR12 HIDR13 TOWR14 TOWR15 QLDR16 QLDR17 SMPR18 SMPR19 SANQR SANR20 BATR21 SURR22 SURR23 PUKR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SYDR28 SYDR29 25th 1010 2017 Brad Jones Racing Holden VF Commodore ADER1 ADER2 SYMR3 SYMR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 BARR7 BARR8 WINR9 WINR10 HIDR11 HIDR12 TOWR13 TOWR14 QLDR15 QLDR16 SMPR17 SMPR18 SANQR SANR19 BATR20 SURR21 SURR22 PUKR23 PUKR24 NEWR25 NEWR26 46th 336 2018 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 ADER1 ADER2 MELR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 SYMR7 SYMR8 PHIR9 PHIR10 BARR11 BARR12 WINR13 WINR14 HIDR15 HIDR16 TOWR17 TOWR18 QLDR19 QLDR20 SMPR21 BENR22 BENR23 SANQR SANR24 BATR25 SURR26 SURR27 PUKR28 PUKR29 NEWR30 NEWR31 17th 1775 2019 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 ADER1 ADER2 MELR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 SYMR7 SYMR8 PHIR9 PHIR10 BARR11 BARR12 WINR13 WINR14 HIDR15 HIDR16 TOWR17 TOWR18 QLDR19 QLDR20 BENR21 BENR22 PUKR23 PUKR24 BATR25 SURR26 SURR27 SANQR SANR28 NEWR29 NEWR30 16th 1875 2020 Kelly Racing Ford Mustang S550 ADER1 ADER2 MELR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 SMP1R7 SMP1R8 SMP1R9 SMP2R10 SMP2R11 SMP2R12 HID1R13 HID1R14 HID1R15 HID2R16 HID2R17 HID2R18 TOW1R19 TOW1R20 TOW1R21 TOW2R22 TOW2R23 TOW2R24 BEN1R25 BEN1R26 BEN1R27 BEN2R28 BEN2R29 BEN2R30 BATR31 14th 1444 2021 Kelly Grove Racing Ford Mustang S550 BAT1R1 BAT2R2 SANR3 SANR4 SANR5 SYMR6 SYMR7 SYMR8 BENR9 BENR10 BENR11 HIDR12 HIDR13 HIDR14 TOW1R15 TOW1R16 TOW2R17 TOW2R18 TOW2R19 SMP1R20 SMP1R21 SMP1R22 SMP2R23 SMP2R24 SMP2R25 SMP3R26 SMP3R27 SMP3R29 SMP4R29 SMP4R30 BAT2R31 17th 1394 2022 Brad Jones Racing Holden ZB Commodore SMPR1 SMPR2 SYMR3 SYMR4 SYMR5 MELR6 MELR7 MELR8 MELR9 BARR10 BARR11 BARR12 WINR13 WINR14 WINR15 HIDR16 HIDR17 HIDR18 TOWR19 TOWR20 BENR21 BENR22 BENR23 SANR24 SANR25 SANR26 PUKR27 PUKR28 PUKR29 BATR30 SURR31 SURR32 ADER33 ADER34 10th 1877 2023 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 NEWR1 NEWR2 MELR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 BARR7 BARR8 BARR9 SYMR10 SYMR11 SYMR12 HIDR13 HIDR14 HIDR15 TOWR16 TOWR17 SMPR18 SMPR19 BENR20 BENR21 BENR22 SANR23 BATR24 SURR25 SURR26 ADER27 ADER28 7th 2016 2024 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 BAT1R1 BAT1R2 MELR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 TAUR7 TAUR8 BARR9 BARR10 HIDR11 HIDR12 TOWR13 TOWR14 SMPR15 SMPR16 SYMR17 SYMR18 SANR19 BATR20 SURR21 SURR22 ADER23 ADER24 10th 1794 2025 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 SYDR1 SYDR2 SYDR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 MELR7 TAUR8 TAUR9 TAUR10 SYMR11 SYMR12 SYMR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 HIDR17 HIDR18 HIDR19 TOWR20 TOWR21 TOWR22 QLDR23 QLDR24 QLDR25 BENR26 BATR27 SURR28 SURR29 SANR30 SANR31ADER32ADER33ADER34 11th 1784 2026 Brad Jones Racing Toyota GR Supra SMPR1 SMPR2 SMPR3 MELR4 MELR5 MELR6 MELR7 TAUR8 TAUR9 CHRR10 CHRR11 CHRR12 CHRR13 SYMR14 SYMR15 SYMR16 HIDR17 HIDR18 HIDR19 TOWR20 TOWR21 TOWR22 BARR23 BARR24 BARR25 QLDR26 QLDR27 QLDR28 BENR28 BATR30 SURR31 SURR32 SANR33 SANR34 ADER35 ADER36 ADER37 13th* 967*
Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps 2014 Super Black Racing Ford Falcon FG Ant Pedersen 11th 161 2015 Super Black Racing Ford Falcon FG X Ant Pedersen DNF 35 2016 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden Commodore VF Aaren Russell DNF 114 2017 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore VF Tim Slade Ashley Walsh‡ 9th 161 2018 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Aaren Russell 16th 161 2019 Kelly Racing Nissan Altima L33 Bryce Fullwood DNF 157 2020 Kelly Racing Ford Mustang S550 Dylan O'Keeffe 11th 161 2021 Kelly Grove Racing Ford Mustang S550 Matthew Campbell NC 159 2022 Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore ZB Dale Wood DNF 4 2023 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 Dale Wood DNF 68 2024 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 Declan Fraser 16th 161 2025 Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 Declan Fraser 7th 161
‡Walsh was entered as a co-driver to Slade but withdrew and was replaced with Heimgartner.
References
External links Official Webpage
Andre Heimgartner - Third Turn profile