Haase Relishing “Really Fantastic” Verstappen Battles

Christopher Haase has enjoyed his “really fantastic” lead battles with Max Verstappen in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie this year but has cautioned that his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II may not be a frontrunner in this weekend’s Nürburgring 24.

Haase has spent countless laps battling the Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo during the four-time Formula 1 champion’s impressive outings in the NLS2 and N24 Qualifier events.

The Scherer Sport PHX Audi ultimately dropped back in NLS2, while Verstappen was stripped of victory for breaching the category’s tire rules, but Haase triumphed alongside Alexander Sims and Ben Green in NLS5 after the Mercedes-AMG suffered damage.

“The racing we had so far in the NLS between Verstappen and me, it has been a really fantastic battle for me as a driver,” Haase told Sportscar365 of his fights with the Dutchman.

“It has been extremely intense because he put a lot of pressure.

“I think we’ve given everything that our cars were able to do.

“On the Nordschleife, to do this is really a difficult task with all this traffic and also the ‘Green Hell’ track itself [and its challenging nature]. It felt very respectful driving each other, which I appreciate a lot.

“Obviously, I’ve had these battles with other guys in the past, it’s not something new, but having this spotlight around us for sure makes that moment very special to everybody.”

Haase will again team up with Sims and Green in the N24 but is uncertain whether the aging Audi will be able to compete with its rivals over the longer distance.

“In a 24-hour race it’s about being fast, having no mistakes and you cannot push too hard because then you risk maybe too much,” he explained.

“That risk management is the main thing where I’m not sure we’re strong enough to be on the pace if we take less risk.”

Haase has consistently raced Audi machinery since 2011 – twice winning the N24 in that time – but has acknowledged that, with the German manufacturer ending its factory GT3 support three years ago, he may soon have to look elsewhere for his racing.

He did contest the Dubai 24H earlier this year at the wheel of a WRT-run BMW M4 GT3 EVO, finishing second, and admitted the Audi’s now “showing some critical limits.”

“I’ve been a long-term Audi driver so there’s some good feelings about it,” Haase added of the R8.

“Obviously the [factory] program has stopped, which is so sad, but the teams keep running it.

“To be honest, I feel like I need to move on soon, but I also feel like it’s still – at the moment – a good car to compete in and I enjoy it still a lot. But I know if there’s nothing changing, I need to move on.”