Last weekend, the motorsport world looked on with bated breath as Max Verstappen and Fabio Scherer made their GT3 debuts at the Nordschleife. In the end, both the four-time Formula 1 world champion and the Le Mans class winner finished on the overall podium.
Together with his teammate Chris Lulham, Max Verstappen dominated the ninth race of the NLS season in Emil Frey Racings’s Ferrari 296 GT3. After being beaten in qualifying, the Dutchman took the lead after the first corner.
From that point on, Max Verstappen demonstrated his skills and extended his lead to around one minute during his double stint. In addition, the F1 driver secured the fastest lap of the day with a time of 7:51.514 minutes.
‘It feels great to win here in my first race,’ said Verstappen happily. He also confirmed his ambitions for the future: ‘My goal is to compete in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring at some point. That’s why we hope to drive even more NLS races next year.’
Successful debut for Fabio Scherer
Alongside Max Verstappen and Chris Lulham, Fabio Scherer also drove his first GT3 race in the “Green Hell”. In the Ford Mustang GT3 of the Haupt Racing Team (HRT), the DTM driver got off to a good start and improved from ninth to fifth place. Despite the cold temperatures, the Swiss driver consistently posted fast lap times in the second stint and kept up with the leaders, including Verstappen. He handed the Mustang over to his team-mate Dennis Fetzer after around two hours, before Jann Mardenborough drove the final stint.
In the end, the Ford trio crossed the finish line 24.496 seconds behind the winning Ferrari and celebrated a remarkable second place. ‘It was a fantastic feeling for my Nordschleife debut. I felt incredibly comfortable in the car and I’m delighted that I was able to perform so well right from the start,’ said Scherer.
His personal highlight: ‘Standing next to Max Verstappen on the podium is a great honour. For me, he is one of the best drivers of all time – and knowing that he was sitting in the car in front of me today was something really special.’
Third place also went to HRT. Frank Stippler and Vincent Kolb completed the podium in the sister car and secured a strong double podium.
Images © Martin Bormann | Martin.Motorsport
Source: PM NLS / PM Fabio Scherer