Supercar Driver André Heimgartner
At just 19 years of age, Andre Heimgartner found himself in arguably the world’s most gruelling and competitive formula of motorsport – V8 Supercars.
But the young kiwi – or ‘Kid Dynamite’ as some have affectionately labelled him – remains humble despite his fierce determination to succeed.
From just 7 years of age, Andre Heimgartner found his calling.
From karting to open wheelers, Heimgartner soon became New Zealand’s youngest-ever Formula Ford champion.
More records and national titles followed and in 2012 Heimgartner’s career reached new heights when he competed in the NZ V8Supertourers.
With sheer determination and talent, a life-long ambition was realised, earning the opportunity to steer Super Black Racing’s first tilt at the Bathurst 1000 – in a wild card entry.
In January 2015, Andre Heimgartner officially arrived in V8 Supercars when the likeable Kiwi was announced as the lead driver for Super Black Racing.
A technical alignment with the Ford factory team proved an even more stunning endorsement and a very rare opportunity to race along side Mark Winterbottom, Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds.
After a challenging debut season in V8 Supercars, Heimgartner’s fortunes became subject to one of the most aggressive off-season trading periods in recent history.
The sport witnessed numerous drivers changing teams as sponsorships shifted, disappeared or launched. When the musical chairs stopped, Kid Dynamite emerged at Melbourne based Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.
In 2017 Heimgartner made the switch to Porsche Carrera Cup. It proved to be a stroke of genius, dominating the category with several wins and podium, ultimately finishing the season second in the Championship by the smallest margin in the history of the category.
In what was perhaps the busiest year of his career, Heimgartner travelled to Malaysia and twice to China, including a stunning podium finish in Shanghai in the esteemed Blancpain series.
Upon his return to Australia, a very last minute call-up to Brad Jones Racing led to a co-drive at the Bathurst 1000 and later the Gold Coast 600, which ultimately delivered the team a much needed podium. It was that drive which caught the eye of NISSAN Motorsport co-owner Todd Kelly to pursue Heimgartner to replace him and in 2018, Heimgartner was announced as returning to Supercars after just one year out of the category.
Heimgartner is now in his fourth year with Kelly Grove Racing and is set to be one to watch.
As ambitious as he is tenacious, Heimgartner is the future of Australasian motorsport. In reality, Kid Dynamite is a pure racer.
