Max Verstappen Takes On Super GT Challenge At Fuji Ahead Of 24H Nurburgring
Max Verstappen delivered an exceptional performance at a rain-soaked Fuji Speedway in Japan, driving a GT500 car for the first time and beating the lap time of experienced Japanese Super GT driver Atsushi Miyake in only two laps.
Max Verstappen delivered an exceptional performance at a rain-soaked Fuji Speedway in Japan, driving a GT500 car for the first time and beating the lap time of experienced Japanese Super GT driver Atsushi Miyake in only two laps. The performance comes ahead of his debut at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nurburgring - widely regarded as the world's toughest endurance race - taking place from May 14-17.
The action was captured in a Red Bull Motorsports YouTube video hosted by Jeremiah Burton of BigTime. It is now available to watch.
Here is all you need to know:
- Four-time F1 world champion Verstappen has enjoyed racing in different cars throughout his career and built a reputation for versatility, quickly adapting to unfamiliar machinery and delivering strong performances across multiple disciplines and conditions.
- This time, he took on a new challenge - braving the wet and unpredictable conditions at the iconic Fuji Speedway in a GT500 car he had never driven, to beat the lap time of professional Super GT driver Miyake.
GT300 cars compete in the lower-tier class of Japan's premier Super GT series, but instead the two drivers took to the the elite GT500 machine, producing around 650 horsepower and significantly higher aerodynamic downforce around the famous circuit.
- Miyake, a former Fuji winner, who made his professional debut in 2020 and stepped up to Japan's top SUPER GT category in 2024, finishing third in the GT500 standings, was the first to head out onto the slick circuit. The 27-year-old used his opening flying lap to get to grips with the slippery conditions, posting a 1:45.453 before improving to set the benchmark of 1:44.075 on his second lap.
- With the rain showing no sign of stopping and rivers of water dotted all over the track, Verstappen presented no fear in climbing inside the GT500 car to attempt to beat Miyake's time.
- Verstappen quickly adapted to the new car on his out lap before he commenced his starting flying lap with a first sector that was just 0.374s down on Miyake's time. He gained in confidence to post better second and third sector times and finish just one tenth behind.
- Having gotten a proper feel for the car and wet conditions, Verstappen launched into his second lap and went 0.920s up in the first sector, 0.511s up in the second 0.229s up in the third to finish in a superb time of 1:42.290 that comfortably beat Miyake's best of 1:44.075.
- His final lap was impressive in heavy rain, with the 28-year-old showing yet again his immediate technical mastery of unfamiliar machinery. Verstappen not only mastered the GT500 car in challenging conditions but also beat the lap time set by an experienced Super GT driver, who has years of experience with both the car, and the track. The result is a strong sign of his readiness heading into next weekend's 24H Nurburgring challenge.
- He said: "It was getting a bit tricky to push. My first lap, I was like, 'I can do a bit better than that' then I did a 42 then it really started raining and then some of those corners were quite tricky. It was getting used to the car, how you go on throttle and braking. The steering is very different and feeling the grip of the tyres. You can't go straight over the rivers (of water) because the corners don't let you do that. It was a really cool experience. Hopefully next time it is dry."
- After his impressive versatility was highlighted by Burton, he added: "I have done quite a lot of different cars so you very quickly just try to learn everything. I love racing so to try all these kind of cars is just really special. I am really excited to go there (Nurburgring) and experience my first real 24-hour event. There is a lot of work going on there. We will prep as well as we can."
- Miyake declared: "He is a world champion so I was surprised, but I was also curious to see how different his driving would be if we shared the same car. Although it was unfortunately raining this time, I was able to actually see how good he was, so I was really excited and had a great time."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)
Max Verstappen