David Heinemeier Hansson

David Heinemeier Hansson, born in 1979, is a successful computer programmer and businessman from Denmark who started his racing career relatively late, at the age of 31 in 2010, but since then he achieved extraordinary results.

First, he was second in the LMP2 classification of the 2012 American Le Mans Series and then second in the LMP2 class of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Then, in 2014, he joined Aston Martin Racing and won both FIA WEC GTE Am class and a class victory at 24 Hours of Le Mans.  In 2016, he was a runner-up again, finishing second in the FIA WEC GTE Am class with Porsche.

In recent years, he changed several teams in different competitions. Currently, he drives for Team Project 1 in the FIA WEC.

David Heinemeier Hansson FB portrait

David started a computer business in 1999

Born in October 1979 in Kopenhagen, Denmark, David started his business career in 1999, founding an online gaming news website. In 2005, he created Ruby on Rails project, being recognized by Google and O'Reilly Media as the Hacker of the Year. In the same year, Heinemeier Hansson moved from Denmark to the USA.

Racing debut in 2010

He started a racing career in the US, entering the IMSA GT3 Challenge in 2010. He even scored one victory in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in his debut season. In 2011, he continued to race in the IMSA GT3 Challenge but also occasionally participated in other championships, such were American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series or Continental Sports Car Challenge.

David Heinemeier Hansson was driving for OAK Racing in 2012 and 2013

Le Mans 24 Hours debut with OAK Racing

In 2012, it was a time for something big. In June, he made a debut at 24 hours of Le Mans, joining OAK Racing in the #35 Morgan LMP2-Nissan. He, Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin finished seventh in the LMP2 class and 14th overall.

Later in a season, Heinemeier Hansson joined OAK Racing in one more race, at Silverstone, sharing a car with Bertrand Baguette and Dominik Kraihamer.

American Le Mans Series LMP2 runner-up in 2012

The first big success came in the American Le Mans Series. David spent the 2012 ALMS season with Conquest Endurance team, driving the #37 Morgan LMP2-Nissan.  His full-time co-driver was Martin Plowman. With two wins (Mosport, Road America) and eight podiums, they finished second in the final standings of the LMP2 class.

2013 - maiden Le Mans podium and second in the championship

In 2013, Heinemeier Hansson joined OAK Racing for the full season in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Driving the #24 Morgan LMP2-Nissan, together with Alex Brundle and Olivier Pla, he scored five podiums to finish second in the final standings, behind teammates in the #35 car. At 24h Le Mans, David finished second in the LMP2 class.

During 2013, he participated also in some other championships. He joined Performance Tech Motorsports at Sebring 12 Hours for the third place in the LMPC class. He also drove for Greaves Motorsport in one round of the European Le Mans Series.

David Heinemeier Hansson in 2014

World champion with Aston Martin Racing

In 2014, David started a season with a podium at Sebring 12 Hours and ended a season as a world champion. At Sebring, he was driving Oreca FLM 09 in the Prototype Challenge class together with Duncan Ende and Bruno Junqueira, finishing in the second place.

In the World Endurance Championship, David joined Aston Martin Racing to drive the #95 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE in the GTE Am class, sharing a car with Kristian Poulsen and Nicki Thiim. They were race winners four times, including a victory at Le Mans, taking the championship title ahead of teammates in the #98 car.

Double programme with Extreme Speed Motorsports

For 2015, Heinemeier Hansson joined Extreme Speed Motorsports to compete full season in the FIA LMP2 class but also in two IMSA Championship races (Daytona, Sebring). He was sharing a car with Ryan  Dalziel and team owner Scott Sharp. After retiring both at Daytona and Sebring, the team failed to score wins or podiums in the World Championship, finishing seventh in the LMP2 standings.

During a season, the team switched from HPD ARX-03b prototype to Ligier JS P2 car, both powered by Honda engines. At Le Mans, they finished 10th in the LMP2 class.

Back to GT class with Porsche in 2016

In 2016, Heinemeier Hansson returned to GTE Am class of the World Championship, joining Abu Dhabi Proton Racing in the #88 Porsche 911 RSR. Sharing a car with Patrick Long and Khaled Al Qubaisi, he finished second in the championship, with two wins on his account. David was again on a podium at Le Mans, finishing third in the GTE Am class.

Earlier that year, David was again on a podium at Sebring, finishing third in the Prototype Challenge class with Starworks Motorsport's colleagues Alex Popow and Renger van der Zande.

In 2017, DHH drove for Vaillante Rebellion Racing

LMP2 racing again in 2017

Another change of class followed in 2017 when Heinemeier Hansson joined Vaillante Rebellion Racing for the full season in the FIA WEC LMP2 class in the #13 Oreca 07-Gibson. Mathias Beche is his full-time partner. The third driver is Nelson Piquet Jr., who was replaced by Pipo Derani in one race.

At Le Mans, they finished 3rd overall and 2nd in the LMP2 class, but the #13 car was disqualified after the race due to forbidden modifications on a car. Later in the season, he scored three podiums to finish 8th in the final standings of the FIA WEC LMP2 class.

David Heinemeier Hansson

Moving a career to the US in 2018

In 2018, David moved his career to the US, joining 3GT Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. He was sharing the #15 Lexus RC F GT3 with Jack Hawksworth, not scoring wins or podiums in the GTD class. Outside IMSA Championship, he joined Jackie Chan DC Racing at Le Mans 24 Hours in Ligier LMP2 prototype, not finishing the race.

In 2019, he changed the team again, joining Team Project 1 to drive a Porsche 911 RSR in the European Le Mans Series and FIA World Endurance Championship.

Photos: David Heinemeier Hansson FB,