Verstappen to Contest NLS Round in Porsche GT4 Car

Max Verstappen will make his competitive sports car racing debut at this weekend’s NLS double-header, driving a Porsche GT4 car as he seeks to obtain his Nordschleife A-Permit.

Although the four-time Formula 1 world champion does not yet appear on the entry list for Saturday’s ADAC ACAS Cup or Sunday’s ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen, it is understood that he will pilot a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS entered by Lionspeed GP.

The German squad, which recently took a Bronze Cup podium finish in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup round at the Nürburgring, currently has Matisse Lismont, Chris Lulham and Kyle Tilley listed as drivers aboard its Porsche for the opening four-hour race on Saturday.

Verstappen, who obtained Platinum grading by the FIA earlier this year, has long held an interest in sports car racing.

He has previously tested a number of GT3 cars as part of his Verstappen dot com Racing operation, which debuted in GTWC Europe earlier this year with Lulham, Thierry Vermeulen and Harry King as drivers.

The Dutchman made headlines in May when he tested an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 at the Nordschleife under the pseudonym ‘Franz Hermann’ ahead of an NLS round, although he was unable to compete at the time due to the lack of a Nordschleife A-Permit.

Late last year, Verstappen also sampled the Acura ARX-06 LMDh car as part of a Honda promotional event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The field for this weekend’s pair of races is headlined by a relatively small SP9 field, with nine GT3 cars entered for both races.

Falken Motorsports headlines the field with its pair of Porsche 911 GT3 Rs. Notably, Julien Andlauer has been entered aboard the No. 3 car alongside Joel Sturm, despite also forming part of Proton Competition’s LMGT3 effort in the European Le Mans Series round at Silverstone.

The sister No. 4 Porsche, meanwhile, will feature Volkswagen test driver Benjamin Leuchter making his GT3 debut alongside Tim Heinemann.

Haupt Racing Team has entered a single Ford Mustang GT3 for Vincent Kolb and Frank Stippler, while the likes of Walkenhorst Motorsport, JUTA Racing and Black Falcon Team EAE are also represented.

For the second race, Frikadelli Racing Team owner Klaus Abbelen has entered the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3 for the Sunday race, although no co-drivers have been named.