'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Max Verstappen reacted as he finished racing on the Nurburgring Nordschleife in the ADAC Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS7). He ran the Cup 3 Class and managed to finish seventh in the race.
The Dutchman had his first run at the Nurburgring earlier this year, when he drove a GT3 car on the circuit back in May. Subsequently, he participated in the ADAC NLS7 series, which enabled him to obtain the DMSB Permit Nordschleife, which will now allow him to participate in other GT3 series such as the 24-hour race.
While he did not have the highest finish around the track, starting in sixth place after qualifying (owing to the class of his car), Verstappen did show quite a powerful performance after losing places at the start.
Trending
Speaking after the race, Max Verstappen revealed that he was glad everything went smoothly and was happy to have obtained the DMSB Permit.
"I'm happy it all went smooth, and I got my DMSB permit Nordschleife," Verstappen said.
"I really enjoyed myself," he added.
While this was one of the first times Verstappen stepped out on the Green Hell competitively, he is no stranger to the track. He has spent hours practicing in his racing simulator, also participating in multiple online events, which made him familiar with the track.
How sim racing helped Max Verstappen at the Nurburgring
Max Verstappen regularly spends hours behind his personal racing simulator. However, he does not run F1 races on there, as he is usually seen practicing for endurance races on some of the most iconic tracks. The Dutchman also participated in the online 24 Hours race at the Nurburgring, where he had an impressive drive.
Having done "thousands" of laps around the Nurburgring in the simulator, Verstappen earlier opened up about how it helped him to set more competitive laps in real life. He highlighted that while he was familiar with the track layout, there were a few differences in real life compared to the sim, and that he was looking out for the car's right balance.
"I've never driven there in real life, not even with a road car. Of course, I did spend a lot of time on the simulator doing thousands of laps, so that helped... When I got out there a few barriers were different, maybe a few kerbs were a little bit different, but I know the track layout well. It's just getting used to the grip level of the car, the conditions, the new tarmac in places," he said (via F1) back in May.
"At the same time I was there with my sim driver that now turned into a real driver. Even for him also to get up to speed there, because eventually we all want to do that race as a team. It was a very good day, we got lucky with the weather as well – it was nice and sunny. It was fantastic!"
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen clinched his third F1 victory of the season earlier at Monza during the Italian GP. His car was able to defeat the dominating McLaren owing to the extremely low downforce setup.
