The total of 110 cars on the entry list for the 57th ADAC Barbarossa-Preis, the ninth and penultimate season round in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS) this Saturday, incudes the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup run by Max Kruse Racing, which will be driven by Dutchmen Tom Coronel and Jan Jaap van Roon. « The fact that Max Verstappen will be competing in a GT3 car for the first time on Saturday makes it extra special for us, » says Tom Coronel.
Obviously, Max Verstappen’s upcoming GT3 debut is attracting a lot of attention. Unlike Coronel and Van Roon, who compete in the Porsche 911 Cup class, the four-time Formula 1 world champion will be racing in the SP9 class, which features the most powerful and fastest machinery on the grid, the cars that normally also compete for the overall victory. « I think Max is about 20 seconds faster per lap, » Coronel estimates. « But of course, it’s really cool that the world champion has also discovered the Nordschleife, because this allows even more people to see how amazing this circuit is! »
In similar fashion, Coronel makes no secret of his enthusiasm for the more than 20-kilometre-long circuit in the Eifel either. « When you’ve been racing as long as I have, you don’t get excited so easily anymore, but when I drive to the Nürburgring, I always have a huge smile on my face, simply because it’s so special. The length of the track, the number of corners, the large number of cars on the field, the differences between fast and slow cars, the latter of which we always call ‘movable chicanes’. Every lap is new and different. I understand very well why Max is keen to take part in the 24-hour race here, because I’ve done it 14 times myself! It’s really a « bucket list’ thing, something for real racers! »
Teammate Jan Jaap van Roon is also looking forward to this Saturday’s four-hour race. « I think that at this time of year, the weather can play quite a role there. The conditions will be quite challenging, real ‘Nordschleife weather’, but that’s part of it; it’s not called « The Green Hell » for nothing, » he says. Van Roon is also enthusiastic about Max Verstappen’s participation: « I think it’s great that he’s already competing here during his Formula 1 career, and next year he has a good chance of winning everything here, » he expects.
In the CUP2 class, exclusively reserved for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, a total of 14 cars have been registered for this Saturday’s race, five of which are in the Pro-Am subcategory, in which Coronel and Van Roon are also competing. « It remains a long-distance race, you have to be super smart, have a good strategy and also deal well with traffic, » says Coronel. « And we will be announcing plans for a new project very soon, because we have another exciting adventure in store. But first, we’re focusing on this weekend’s race! » The NLS race, which will be held on Saturday from 12:00 to 16:00, can be watched live via the Viaplay app with Dutch commentary by Nelson Valkenburg and Sebastiaan and Jeroen Bleekemolen. The broadcast starts at 11:45.