Max Hesse

Max Hesse
NationalityGermany German
Born (2001-07-23) 23 July 2001 (age 23)
Wernau, Germany
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup career
Debut season2022
Current teamROWE Racing
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number998
Starts11 (11 entries)
Wins1
Podiums3
Poles0
Fastest laps1
Best finish10th in 2023
Previous series
2020–22
2017–19		Nürburgring Endurance Series
ADAC TCR Germany
Championship titles
2019ADAC TCR Germany

Max Hesse (born 23 July 2001) is a German racing driver driving for ROWE Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.[1] The German has been part of the BMW M Motorsport works driver staple since 2023.[2]

Hesse began his car racing career in the TCR touring car scene, making his ADAC TCR Germany debut in 2017 before embarking on a full season with PROsport Performance in 2018.[3] Following a sixth-place finish in the standings and the Rookie Trophy title, the German moved to Hyundai Team Engstler ahead of the 2019 season.[4] He took his first podiums in the opening three races before going on a run of four victories in the final eight races, narrowly winning the title against defending champion Harald Proczyk.[5] As a consequence of his title-winning season, Hesse was named the ADAC Junior Motorsportsman of the year.[6]

Hesse switched his focus to the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie from 2020 onward as a newly-minted BMW junior driver, racing in multiple events in the SP8T and Cup 5 classes.[7][8] The former would see Hesse attain success, with him winning the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for Walkenhorst Motorsport.[9] In 2021, he and N24-winning teammates Dan Harper and Neil Verhagen went on to drive in the NLS's SP9 category, the highest-placed GT class, under the Team RMG banner.[10] With two wins, the trio finished second in the standings, though they were forced to retire from the Nürburgring 24 Hours.[11]

The trio remained together for the next two years, competing with Rowe Racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup.[12][13] Their highlight performance came with a second place at the 2023 season-opener at Monza, in the first year which Hesse, Harper, and Verhagen contested as full BMW factory drivers.[14][15] Further successes included an overall race win in the NLS and a personal success for Hesse, who won the second race of the Road to Le Mans event alongside Valentino Rossi.[16][17][18]

Hesse and Harper both returned to the Endurance Cup and Rowe Racing in 2024, this time partnering Augusto Farfus.[19] At the first race in Le Castellet, an impressive performance by both Hesse and Harper enabled the team to come out victorious.[20] Hesse added to his accolades at the end of May by taking pole position for the Nürburgring 24 Hours, making him the youngest polesitter in the history of the race.[21][22] In a rain-shortened event, Hesse, Harper, and Charles Weerts ended up third.[23]

  1. ^ "ROWE Racing Confirms World Challenge Europe & N24 Plans | dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Nach drei Jahren als BMW Junior Team: Dan Harper, Max Hesse und Neil Verhagen sind BMW M Werksfahrer". www.press.bmwgroup.com (in German). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Sandro Kaibach and Max Hesse at PROsport Performance in 2018". TouringCars.Net. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Max Hesse joins Théo Coicaud at Team Engstler". TouringCarTimes. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  5. ^ TouringCarTimes (29 September 2019). "Newly crowned champion Max Hesse: "It was absolute madness"". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ fabior (8 November 2019). "Max Hesse named ADAC Junior Motorsportsman of the year". TCR World Ranking. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Max Hesse wird Fahrer im BMW Junior Team – Max Hesse – powered by Fast-Media" (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (9 January 2020). "BMW Revives Junior Team; Names Drivers for 2020 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ "BMW Junior Team 2020: An extraordinary year with extraordinary performances". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "GT News Notebook: ADAC GT Masters, N24 & NLS". Dailysportscar. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  11. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (5 May 2021). "Defending Winner BMW Names N24 Driver Lineups". sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  12. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (16 February 2022). "BMW Junior Team Enters Endurance Cup with ROWE". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (2 March 2023). "ROWE Sets Lineups for Two-Car Efforts in Endurance Cup, N24". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  14. ^ "BMW Confirm 20 Factory Drivers For 2023 Season". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  15. ^ "1-2 For ROWE Racing In Endurance Cup Opener At Monza". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  16. ^ "BMW Junior Team Wins NLS3". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Rossi Win Headlines 2023 Road To Le Mans Races". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  18. ^ Pettit, Vince (14 June 2023). "Rossi and BMW M Team WRT Triumph at Road to Le Mans". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  19. ^ "ROWE Racing to compete in GT World Challenge Europe and the 24h Nürburgring again in 2024". Endurance-Info. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  20. ^ Euwema, Davey (7 April 2024). "ROWE BMW Wins Endurance Cup Opener at Paul Ricard – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Hesse Beats Vanthoor To Nürburgring 24 Hours Pole". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  22. ^ Euwema, Davey (31 May 2024). "Nürburgring Friday Notebook – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  23. ^ Euwema, Davey (2 June 2024). "Scherer Sport PHX Wins Shortest-Ever, Red-Flagged N24 – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2 June 2024.