Verstappen Obtains Nordschleife A-Permit in NLS7
Photo: NLS
Max Verstappen successfully obtained his Nordschleife A-Permit after competing in last weekend’s ADAC ACAS Cup, clearing the way for the four-time Formula 1 world champion to race GT3 machinery at the Green Hell in the future.
The Dutchman joined GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS regulars Lionspeed GP for Saturday’s seventh round of the NLS season and teamed up with Verstappen dot Com Racing driver Chris Lulham for the four-hour race.
Verstappen completed the necessary fourteen laps aboard the No. 980 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, finishing 27th overall and seventh in the CUP3 category.
“I’m happy it all went smooth, and I got my DMSB Permit Nordschleife, Verstappen said.
“I really enjoyed myself, but that’s always the case around here. It was good to drive stints in the race with traffic, both with faster and slower cars.
“There was also a ‘code 60’ race neutralisation, double waved yellows and a standard yellow flag. I drove in the wet, the dry and in mixed conditions.
“I’ve gained experience in where the grip is and isn’t and completed a start procedure. It was really good to gain more experience on this circuit.”
With his A-Permit secured, Verstappen is now able to race GT3 machinery at the Nordschleife, with the expectation that he could contest NLS9 in an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, as that rounds coincides with a gap in the Formula 1 calendar.
Verstappen previously tested an Emil Frey Ferrari at the Nordschleife in May ahead of NLS3, driving under the pseudonym ‘Franz Hermann.’
“It’s challenging and today we saw that some parts of the track were dry and other parts wet,” Verstappen added.
“The track surface also differs around the circuit, which makes it difficult to string a lap together, but it’s also what makes it special. To contest a 24-hour race here, in a GT3 car, would be amazing.”
Haupt Racing Team Ends Porsche’s NLS Win Streak; Delivers First Series Victory for Mustang GT3
This past weekend featured a pair of four-hour NLS races as part of a double header for the series, with Haupt Racing team notably coming out on top in Sunday’s ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen to deliver the first series victory for the Ford Mustang GT3.
Frank Stippler and Vincent Kolb drove the No. 64 Ford to victory with margin of two minutes and 5.634 seconds over the No. 4 Falken Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R of Tim Heinemann and Benjamin Leuchter.
Falken, which had entered a pair of cars for the double header, secured a 1-2 victory led by the sister car of Julien Andlauer and Joel Sturm on Saturday, looked on course to continue Porsche’s NLS winning streak on Sunday.
That was until Andlauer became involved in an incident at Hohe Acht with three laps remaining, clearing the way for Stippler and Kolb to take victory.
It marked the first time the Mustang GT3 had taken victory in an NLS race, which followed on from HRT’s SP9 Pro-Am victory in the Nürburgring 24 back in June.
The result also brought an end to a run of wins for Porsche that had lasted since the start of the season and which had produced four wins for the Schnabl Engineering-run Falken squad as well as victories for Scherer Sport PHX (two) and Manthey EMA (one).
Of note, Sunday’s four-hour race also marked the farewell as a driver for Frikadelli Racing Team founder Klaus Abbelen, who drove solo aboard the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 but retired with a gearbox issue.
Abbelen, whose Frikadelli stable won the N24 in 2023, revealed prior to the weekend that the team will return to Nordschleife competition next year.
“We’re already planning to be back next year with a top driver lineup and car for the season’s highlights,” Abbelen said. “That will definitely include some NLS races.”
Source: Sports Car 365