"Real racer" Max Verstappen's 'worldwide' impact on GT races draws praise from Nurburgring series boss

Max Verstappen participated in the ninth round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series and won the race on his GT3 class debut. Subsequently, the Managing Director of the endurance series, Mike Jäger, revealed how the Dutchman's presence gave the event an international spotlight and praised him for being a real racer to contend the GT3 race on his own will.

Verstappen's dreams of racing in the GT3 class began early as he initially tested a Ferrari 296 GT3 car at the green hell earlier in the year. This then led him to race a Porsche Cayman GT4 car to earn his DMSB Grade A permit to race GT3 cars in the endurance series, which he was able to secure after a topsy-turvy racing debut in the series.

With his Nurburgring Nordschleife racing license under his belt, he was scheduled to make an appearance at the ninth round of the endurance series. There, he qualified third and won the race after taking the lead on the first corner of the opening lap.

So, when asked about the impact that Verstappen's presence made on the event, the endurance series' managing director, Jäger, told GPBlog:

"It was a fantastic experience to see Max driving in the NLS, and I was personally impressed by his performance. He proved to be a real racer, and although he was by no means eager to get the license, he just did it. I think the experience of racing here with the modest Cayman did him a lot of good personally."

"We are grateful that he has brought us a lot of international attention and are already looking forward to his announcement that he will be racing with us again in the future. The reigning Formula 1 world champion racing GT3 on the Nordschleife is not only good for us, the track, and the region, but also for the GT races worldwide."

Max Verstappen arrived at Nurburgring at the back after winning two consecutive races at the F1 front.

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An "amazing" weekend for Max Verstappen at Nurburgring

Emil Frey Racing's Chris Lulham (L) and Max Verstappen (R) after winning the ninth round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen had raced for kilometers on end in Nurburgring in the virtual world. With the Dutchman already knowing the nooks and crannies of the track and any discrepancies being ironed out by his test runs, the Red Bull driver easily brought home a race win in his debut GT3 class race at the circuit.

Reflecting on his successful outing, he said (via Verstappen.com):

"Everything went well in terms of traffic, and we didn’t make any big mistakes. To win my debut race here is amazing."

Meanwhile, Verstappen has also admitted earlier that taking part in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring is a dream of his, which can be completed now as he has the Nordschleife license under his belt.