24 Hours of Nurburgring tickets sell out for first time ever ahead of Max Verstappen debut.

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__adlerholmes@reddit

“I don’t watch F1” perfectly explains the idiotic sentences that come after.

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PalmSizedTriceratops@reddit

They absolutely don't. Every sport has an individual with generational talent who has hand and fist above the competition. Max is just that for racing. The man has a gift.

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PastPalpitationCry@reddit

The barrier to entry in other sports are low enough that a broke but talented individual can be recognized.

For football you need an open ground and 2 cones/rocks. for basketball, there are plenty of public hoops around. Go to a random bar for Pool. etc

For racing you need to already be rich to afford to make mistakes and limit test while driving.

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That doesn’t take away that he’s a generational talent in the current pool of racers, though. Can’t compare people not in the profession with people in the profession. Negates any argument about anything ever and leads people to do a lot of hypothetical mental gymnastics to try and compare themselves to greats.

“Well if I had his $ I’d probably do [insert whatever crazy metric they think they’d match]”. Shit happens all the time with low barrier entry sports.

A lot of shoulda coulda woulda

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CostaQuantaa@reddit

No. All races Max has done so far are basically glorified practice sessions for the 24h race …and it has always been like that, long before Max Verstappen became interested in endurance racing. In the NLS races leading up to the big race, top drivers are regularly missing due to WEC and IMSA, the top teams test different setups, and above all the leading Porsches and BMWs have been sandbagging before the 24h for years. This weekend will be Max’s first race where he actually faces a fully competitive field.

It’s entirely possible that he’ll still put in the fastest lap times, simply because he’s currently the best driver in the world, but there won’t be entire levels separating him from the top endurance guys like Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor. Guys like Estre and Vanthoor are primarily Porsche endurance drivers because they didn’t have the necessary funding for Formula 1, not because they lacked talent.

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imperialtrace@reddit

No they don't. The insinuation that every other driver on the grid has been paid off to make Max look good or that his car has an unfair advantage to sell tickets is pretty silly when you realize how much sim racing he does outside of his F1 career and how he takes every opportunity he can to race in non-F1 series. While you and I and other people would have hobbies outside of work, Max spends nearly every waking hour on his sim rig or behind the wheel of something on a track. For better or worse, racing is all he knows.

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MichiganCarNut@reddit

I don't watch F1

Or any motorsports apparently

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

1320 is Motorsports >:( RIP Kyle

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withsexyresults@reddit

Isn’t straight line racing better example of pay drivers?

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

At the highest level yes, but drag racing is far more grass roots, plenty of really fast cars that don’t take much money to build

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fullofshitandcum@reddit

You know what costs almost no money? Learning how to drive around a corner...

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

Yeah and then go race what? Autocross? For $50k I can go and build a 7 second Coyote and have all the fun in the world, racing in the high end drag events. It would cost you millions to break out of Miata/GR spec

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fullofshitandcum@reddit

So? What fun is there to learning how to handle a car for 7 seconds at a time

Now if we take that 7 second coyote and throw it around a track, now you've got my attention

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

So? So we can go and enjoy ourselves, if you don’t find 2 lateral Gs slapping your gut fun that’s your problem

The point is you will never in your life be able to race in any of the high end circuit races unless you win the lottery, but in drag racing if that’s all you wanna do you can surely start competing at a high level if you dedicate your time and money to it

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fullofshitandcum@reddit

You can get 2Gs+ while cornering in 125cc shifter karts. Throw in battling for position, no suspension. That's fun. So yeah, I'll drive your 7 second car. Give me three so I can force them down a dirt road in the forest with my boys

Yeah, you can buy your way into racing at some notable races. But you've still got to be fast enough to handle the car an not be a danger to others on track. Factory teams and the leading privateers, are also probably not going to hire Billy Moneybags while they're fighting to win.

All racing is expensive. Drag racing, perhaps less so. But even the mediocre drivers in lesser series could probably get a grips with learning to drag race. They're not absolutely garbage drivers. You don't get into track racing without appreciating and respecting the skill needed

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withsexyresults@reddit

But the fastest guys even at grassroots level are probably the ones who can throw the most money at tires and power

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dwerg85@reddit

Not really. It depends what type of racing is done. The traditional heads-up style, sure, yeah it can become a wallet racing league. But in bracket racing you can grab a random family car straight from the dealership and as long as you can drive it consistently down the stop you will always beat people in much more expensive gear.

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parker2020@reddit

Sure as hell doesn’t show you can get around a track fast

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53bvo@reddit

Racing sure is about money but Verstappen is also one of the best drivers ever so yeah compared to Verstappen they suck at driving.

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

But its still different disciplines, this is like LeBron going to MLB and hitting .400

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Finbarr-Galedeep@reddit

LeBron going to MLB and hitting .400

Wtf even is this sentence?

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

Bro doesn’t know basic sports terms

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Finbarr-Galedeep@reddit

Uniquely American sports terms. Youre like 4% of the world's population, so why would anyone else know what you're on about?

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Well, Micheal Jordan did go to MLB for a bit.

And not really. It's more like a short T20 (lasts about 2 hours and is all about power) Cricketer playing a longer Test game (a 3 day game that's about planning and endurance)

It's still the same sport, but the way you play it is different.

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B00marangTrotter@reddit

He played for the White Sox, but not during the series play, like spring training and exhibition what not.

He gave it a proper go, but he's not a baseball player. He his a basketball idol.

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Witherino@reddit

People like Bo Jackson and Ohtani exist. You can be elite in multiple different sports/disciplines

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cat_prophecy@reddit

All me to introduce you to Bo Jackson.

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mynotell@reddit

not at all, its more like a premier league player going into serie a.

still football but maybe more physical, faster etc

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AKADriver@reddit

I've got to imagine that coming from F1, a GT3 car feels like racing in slow motion. Not to say that racing in GT3 against the world's best is easy, but the car control aspect is going to be easier than F1. Verstappen's challenge is going to be the racecraft and strategy that's different between F1 and endurance racing. And he's got a world class team supporting that part.

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Slowhands12@reddit

No, that would be akin to Max going from F1 to MotoGP and immediately getting podiums.

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GetSkied15@reddit

No, that’s definitely not what it’s like lmao

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mateww@reddit

It's not though. It's still a car, with four wheels, on a race track. The dynamics of the car are different but the short and sweet of it is very much the same, nowhere close to your comparison.

If he was going into rally, I could maybe understand where you're coming from, but you're way off

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The3rdbaboon@reddit

Nah he is fast but he hasn’t dominated to that extent in the 2 races he’s done so far.

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Sounds like everyone in that league sucks at driving

Dude, you sound so fucking ignorant saying that. The 24 hours of Nring is like one of the most challenging races in the Motorsport grid rn. Even doing semi decently, Is a massive test of skill and endurance.

You literally would not last a single lap

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fullofshitandcum@reddit

What are you talking about man? He drives an M4. He knows everything there is about driving, that's why he has The Ultimate Driving Machine/s

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badcrass@reddit

I could give you a billion dollars and you wouldn't beat Max in a race. He's been racing since he was a child.

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

... The point is that the other people around him on the track are only there because daddy paid for their spot, and that Max is an actual good racer so he's exposing them for being shit drivers and only being there because they could afford to

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Yeah, no. The 24hr Grid is packed with some of the greatest drivers on the world. Some may be pay, but they still have skill

Look at 1 lap by Misha Chourdrin (who won his class last year) and tell her sucks at driving.

Genuinely, this is the dumbest statement I've ever heard

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

Misha drives more than most of the guys on that grid lmao

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MessyMix@reddit

For the record, Misha is one of the weaker drivers on the grid. His stint laptimes are slower than Jimmy Broadbent's and Steve Brown's, and they pale in comparison to career GT drivers.

So if you think he's a good driver, I'd reconsider the stance that the rest of the grid are poor - they're pretty thoroughly better than Misha.

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Most guys on that grid are pro racers.

The fact that Misha has to fight to win on a track he basically lives on shows the talent of the other drivers

What even is your point?

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

Misha won because he's a good driver and isn't there simply cause of money, my point is made once again

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cannedrex2406@reddit

What point!? You said they don't have skill and only money. Other drivers have skill! Having money is irrelevant

You think max didnt have money? His dad was Joes Verstappen lmao. He had the money to get him racing.

99% of racing driver in the world comes from money. The fucking sport is a RICH sport.

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ShadyDrunks@reddit

I'm saying guys like Max and Misha come in and walk all over everyone else because the other guys are only there cause of money, where Max and Misha bring skill

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JBounce369@reddit

I cannot believe what I'm reading. Misha is a good driver but he's barely the same species as the top level factory drivers. Watch his video with Thomas Preining and tell me that they possess the same driving ability

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Max and Misha did not "walk" all over. They had tough competition. While Misha was in an amateur class, Max is racing against professional GT3 racers. You can't just buy a seat to that for fucks sake. Those are FACTORY racing drivers. They have more skill in their pinkie, than you or I could ever have

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JBounce369@reddit

There are publicly available podcasts with Laurin Heinrich, Jules Gounon, Ayanchan Guven etc who detail their journey into racing, who don't come from money, and made it to the very top. There are pay drivers in GTs yes, but the platinum and gold guys are there because they're talented, not because they paid

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coyote_of_the_month@reddit

If I were someone like Verstappen, I wouldn't want to risk getting on a track with pay drivers. Too much to lose, not enough to gain.

Then again, it's not like he didn't get on a track with Mazepin.

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ButtholeSurfur@reddit

I would never come close. However I was listening to sports talk radio a months weeks ago on my way home from work and the host was talking about "athletes that came from nothing."

I was thinking Manny Pacquiao, LeBron, etc . One guy called in and said Max Verstappen 🤣. The radio host had no idea who he was talking about but how do you come from nothing when your dad is an F1 driver for 10 years?

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Klynn7@reddit

Yeah Lewis Hamilton would be a better pull than Max, and even he would be for limited definitions of “nothing”

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ButtholeSurfur@reddit

Yeah, I mean my parents certainly couldn't afford to buy me a go-kart when I was six like Hamilton.

Even Lewis' family had some cash. He was also racing remote controlled cars.

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SecretPantyWorshiper@reddit

You do have a point. It is a bit embarrassing but thats alot of racing is unfortunately. Most of the drivers are paid drivers. Also plus the fact that Max is really good it does out alot of the people to shame.

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CostaQuantaa@reddit

You guys have zero clue what you are talking about. All races Max has done so far are basically glorified practice sessions for the 24h race …and it has always been like that, long before Max became interested in endurance racing. In the NLS races leading up to the big race, top drivers are regularly missing due to WEC and IMSA, the top teams test different setups, and above all the leading Porsches and BMWs have been sandbagging before the 24h for years. This weekend will be Max’s first race where he actually faces a fully competitive field.

It’s entirely possible that he’ll still put in the fastest lap times, simply because he’s currently the best driver in the world, but there won’t be entire levels separating him from the top endurance guys like Estre and Vanthoor. Porsche and BMW factory drivers...they aren't where they are because they are paid drivers. They are primarily endurance drivers because they didn’t have the necessary funding for Formula 1, not because they lacked talent.

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cannedrex2406@reddit

Don't bother, it'll just go over their head

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Finessence@reddit

Wait until you hear about nascar drivers in sprint cars, then you’ll really have a fit!

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parker2020@reddit

This is Bate lmfaooo no human is this fucking stupid 😂🤣😂🤣😂

There’s no way this is the conclusion you came to NO FUCKING WAY LMFAOO

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arcticrobot@reddit

Max has driven this track in a sim forever. And he has tons of experience in GT3 cars both sim and track time.

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grendel303@reddit

There's a running joke that he only races F1 to support his sim racing. He races more in simulation, it's not like he hasn't driven that circuit hundreds of times.

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JBounce369@reddit

This is a horrific take. Max Verstappen is, in my opinion, the best driver on the planet right now. He hasn't been 'lapping' top GT drivers, he has famously been fighting tooth and nail with a veteran driver, Christopher Haase. On top of this, the two NLS races he has competed in so far aren't conventional competitive races in the normal sense. For the GT guys, they're essentially glorified practice sessions for the real 24h race coming up, not all the top drivers are there, not every team competes, and drivers often drive to a delta to play the BoP game.

When it comes to the 24h race, Max may well be the fastest guy there and that wouldn't surprise me because he is a ridiculous talent behind the wheel, and outrageously adaptable. But he also isn't going to simply waltz off into the distance and make a mockery of the experienced GT guys, the likes of Dan Harper, Laurens Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello etc are exceptional talents and not there just because money.

A lot of drivers are in GTs not through a lack of talent, but lack of funding to have a viable single seater career