Max Verstappen, the great promoter

It’s also worth mentioning that his quickest lap of 7:51.5 was just two seconds off the outright GT3 lap record. He even indulged in the great Nordschleiffe tradition of overtaking on the grass. In short, the hype was valid.    

Liberty Media says F1 generates around 1.6 billion ‘cumulative’ views annually. If GT3 can share in even a tiny fraction of that, it will be very good news for the sport, helping major car makers justify their continued involvement during a turbulent time in the industry. Having a homologation base in the road car line-up can no longer be taken for granted. 

Hopefully a wider audience can quickly appreciate how fabulous GT3 cars are to watch. Thanks to those strict homologation rules, these are the most relatable cars in serious racing, both from a visual and a dynamic perspective. And noise, of course.

Strip the livery off two F1 cars and the average fan would struggle to tell them apart. In GT3 you know instantly if an Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911, BMW M4 or Ford Mustang is bearing down on you from the noise and headlights, even before the car in fully into view. They’re also hardy enough to tussle like touring cars but have a good degree of exoticism about them.  

As for the way Verstappen lives his life as a racing driver, you’ve just got to love it, haven’t you?