Max Verstappen unstoppable with dominant Nordschleife NLS2 victory

Max Verstappen secured a dominant victory with teammates Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon in NLS2 at the Nordschleife, by a margin of 59 seconds.

The Dutchman took part in his preparation for the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May and immediately put on a strong display. 

Verstappen stormed to pole position in the morning with a lead of just under two seconds over the rest of the field.

In the opening stages, however, Verstappen had his hands full with the #16 Audi of Christopher Haase. He took over the lead at the end of the opening lap, after which Verstappen was only able to hit back just before the first pit stop lap. 

After that, Juncadella took over from Verstappen and proved able to build a solid lead.

The most opposition for a while came from the #99 BMW of Dan Harper, which employed a different strategy. 

Gounon had to fight briefly to hold the lead position, although it was clear that Harper was going to stop earlier, losing more time. Gounon drove a total of eight laps, allowing Verstappen Racing a shorter final pit stop.

And so the race fell into place for the four-time world champion. Verstappen took the concluding stint to gain additional experience in the Mercedes and cruised convincingly to victory.

The #99 BMW finished in second place, ahead of the #44 Porsche. It marked the ideal preparation for the 24 hours.