The Max Verstappen frenzy has officially kicked off at the Nürburgring! The Dutchman is participating in a GT race on the iconic Nordschleife for the first time this weekend. Verstappen’s debut in an endurance race of the German Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) has, of course, not gone unnoticed.
The organization behind the Nordschleife had to set up two extra grandstands for Max Verstappen’s fans. An additional 50,000 fans are expected during the four-time world champion’s debut weekend on the ‘Green Hell’ section of the Nürburgring. The official Instagram channel of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie warned visitors to arrive early due to extra traffic on the access roads to the circuit.
Qualification
And Verstappen delivered during the wet qualification on Saturday morning, giving the many spectators who came especially for him what they were hoping for. In his Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, which he shares with teammate Chris Lulham, he qualified 27th overall and came sixth in his own Cup3 class. Verstappen was more than a minute faster than the other scaled-back Cup3 cars.
Verstappen was still in the classroom on the Friday preceding his debut weekend on the Nordschleife, but has since passed his B-license for the Nürburgring Norschleife. The Dutchman is praised by the Germans for following the usual path to get his license, and the commentators of the qualification even thanked the four-time world champion for respecting the system. Verstappen can also earn his A-license in just one day on Saturday. To do this, he must complete fourteen laps on the Nordschleife without errors or penalties.
