Max Verstappen secures impressive finish away from F1 at the Nurburgring
Max Verstappen was behind the wheel of a different kind of machinery at the Nurburgring.
Max Verstappen and teammate Chris Lulham have earned a seventh placed finish in the CUP3 class in racing at the Nurburgring on Saturday, competing with higher-powered cars around them in the process.
Within the CUP3 subsection, Verstappen had qualified 25 seconds faster than the next identical CUP3(G) car earlier in the day, and took on the first stint in the subsequent NLS7 four-hour race as he got closer to gaining a new racing licence, which is a requirement to compete at the Nordschleife in future.
Max Verstappen and Chris Lulham impress at the Nurburgring
While Verstappen and Lulham were placed in a small class of three in the CUP3(G) [guest] class, they finished first in their sub-class and were able to finish above cars with higher power available in the wider CUP3 class, taking seventh place out of all the CUP3 cars overall, and 27th place overall on the road.
Starting in the second of three groups, Verstappen took the wheel of the #980 Porsche GT4 Cayman with the knowledge that, prior to gaining his licence at the Nordschleife, his car would run slightly detuned with around 300bhp instead of the usual 425bhp, with the weather also having dried up following a wet qualifying in the morning.
He qualified sixth in the whole CUP3 class, even against many of the higher-powered cars around him.
Verstappen’s power deficit was evident at the start, though, as several cars overtook him in a straight line after the lights went green, but the reigning F1 World Champion was able to keep in touch through the corners and stay as close to the cars ahead as he could.
The Dutchman was in charge of the first stint of the four-hour race, with teammate Lulham in place to take over later on.
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While Verstappen fell behind several of the faster PRO, AM and PRO/AM cars around him, he built up a healthy lead over the other CUP3(G) cars around him, falling to 14th in CUP3 overall.
He made moves up to P11 on the road as others pitted around him, clocking laps consistently around the nine-minute mark as he kept several faster cars behind throughout his stint, diligently clocking the laps he needed in order to gain the specific licence he is seeking to race around the Nordschleife in future.
Just after the halfway point and with 14 racing laps under his belt – the number listed as one of the requirements to gain a DMSB [Deutscher Motor Sport Bund] Permit Nordschleife – Verstappen pitted to hand over the #980 car to teammate Lulham, who completed the rest of the race with a significant gap to the other CUP3(G) cars behind.
Lulham had to navigate tough conditions at the German circuit, too, as rain began to fall again around the track, pitting for wet tyres with 80 minutes still on the clock.
The weather would dry out again heading into the closing stages, with Lulham having the cushion of multiple CUP3(AM) cars between himself and the others in his class on the road.
He was able to make further headway on places, too, moving back up into the top 10 and crossing the line seventh in the CUP3 class overall, while winning the CUP3(G) sub-category after 10 laps of his own.
Why has Max Verstappen been at the Nurburgring?
With ambitions to get into endurance racing separately from Formula 1 in future, Verstappen made it clear the Nurburgring was at the top of his list of circuits to drive upon.
To do so in racing conditions, he had to gain the DMSB Permit Nordschleife, which would enable him to compete in such events as the 24 Hours of Nurburgring in years to come, with GT3 cars the highest permitted category at the circuit due to its grading.
“Racing is not just my profession, but also my hobby,” Verstappen said on his official website.
“This weekend I am at the Nordschleife with the goal to qualify for the mandatory race permit needed to race here in a GT3 car, which I would love.
“The Nordschleife is at the top of my list of tracks I want to race on, as it’s extremely challenging and demanding, with its enormous length and tight historic layout. I can’t wait!”
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