Max wins opening race 'Real Racers Never Quit', problems in second race
Published on 02 April 2020 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen will look back with mixed feelings on the fifth round of the online ‘Real Racers Never Quit by Team Redline’ series. The Dutchman dominated the first race at Interlagos before missing the start of the second race due to technical difficulties meaning he failed to score points.
“My PC crashed, it’s as simple as that”, explains Max. “It’s shame, the pace was there. When I eventually entered, a lot of drivers already dropped out so I though to give it a go. In the end, I finished just outside the points, so it wasn’t too bad. Of course, I would’ve loved to battle at the front.”
Nevertheless, the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver enjoyed the fifth round of the series with all drivers racing a BMW M8 GTE at Interlagos. “It’s a fun track. Not too many corners but it’s fun. It’s a track you can really race on, especially with these guys it’s a lot of fun”, said Max who concluded with: “We’ll see where we’ll race on Friday, but first I have to throw my PC of the balcony and buy a new one!”
For the first race, Max qualifies in pole ahead of Formula 1 colleague Lando Norris. The race gets underway via rolling start. Max stays out of trouble and heads into turn one leading the field. In the opening half, Norris is able to stay within a second of Max before the McLaren driver is put under pressure by third placed Augustin Canapino. Max is able to extend his lead and claim a dominant victory, whilst Norris has to dig deep to hold on to P2.
For the second race of the evening, Max again secures pole position. Lando Norris lines up in P2. DTM driver Sheldon van der Linde clocks the same time as Norris and qualifies in third.
As the race is about to start, technical issues mean Max suddenly disappears during the warm-up lap. Lando Norris inherits pole and leads the field into the first corner. Despite leading the race in the early stages, the win goes to Turkish racer Ayhancan Guves, ahead of Norris and third placed Dennis Marschall. Max does complete a couple of laps, but sadly no points for the Dutchman in the second Interlagos race.
Friday 3 April, the sixth and final round of the ‘Real Racers Never Quit’ series is scheduled. Tune in on live.teamredline.com. Follow Max onboard on twitch.tv/maxverstappen. Go here to find out more about the series.
