Max and Chris win NLS9 at the Nuerburgring Nordschleife: 'Amazing!'
Published on 27 September 2025 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen has won on his GT3 race debut! Together with teammate Chris Lulham, the 27-year-old took the win in the ninth round of the NLS, the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, on the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife. The pair entered the 4-hour race in a Verstappen.com x Red Bull-liveried Ferrari 296 GT3, run by Swiss outfit Emil Frey Racing. A total of 110 cars contested the race, with ten cars participating in the fastest category (SP9).
“It was great!”, said Max after clinching the win. “During my first two stints, the car was amazing. After qualifying, I knew the car would be good on a dry track. Everything went well in terms of traffic, and we didn’t make any big mistakes. To win my debut race here is amazing.”
The Dutchman also alluded to his future plans at the Ring. “Of course, we really want to race the 24-hour race, here at the Nordschleife. If that’s going to be next year, I don’t know yet. Of course we need more experience, so hopefully we can enter a few more NLS races next year.”
Chris Lulham delighted in the win: “The car was amazing. There was a lot of traffic and several accidents and ‘code 60’ situations, which didn’t make it easy for me. I’m so happy. I’ve got to thank Verstappen.com Racing and Emil Frey Racing for offering me this package to make such a strong NLS debut.”
The race gets underway following a rolling start procedure. Max, having qualified in third, pounces on the lead and heads into the first corner in P1. After the opening lap, Max heads the field, followed by the #6 Ford Mustang GT3 of Frank Stippler. The #34 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO of Christian Kroges completes the top three after starting on pole position.
On lap three, Max encounters a fair bit of traffic, but a lap later the Dutchman clocks his quickest lap of the day, a 7:51.514, two seconds off the NLS lap record (7:49.578). After seven laps, Max heads to the pits for the first time for fuel and new tyres, reappearing in the lead, 23 seconds ahead of the #6 Mustang.
Following a second seven-lap stint, having increased the lead to just over a minute, Max heads into the pits to hand over driving duties to Chris. The English driver inherits P1 ahead of the #6 Mustang and the #34 Vantage.
In the final hour and a half, there are several crashes that produce yellow flags. An unfortunately timed ‘code 60’ slashes Chris’ lead by half a minute to 40 seconds. 22 laps in, Chris makes his final stop of the race for fuel and tyres, after which another ‘code 60’ reduces the lead to 24 seconds ahead of a different Mustang, the #9 entry.
Chris controls the race in the closing stages and takes the chequered flag to secure a debut win at the iconic Nordschleife for himself, Max, Verstappen.com Racing and Emil Frey Racing.
To commemorate Max’s GT3 debut, Verstappen.com has launched limited edition T-shirts and Hoodies called ‘For the Love of Racing’. In addition, you can pre-order 1:43 and 1:18 scale models: www.verstappen.com/new
