Scherer Sport PHX teamboss praises Haase-Verstappen fights: 'We do it for races like this'

Verstappen and Haase met during NLS2, and since then the media have been talking about nothing but the duel between the two gentlemen. The Audi driver, also a two-time winner of the 24h Nurburgring, told GPblog that he received a huge number of messages from Max Verstappen fans. After another duel during the N24 Qualifiers, everyone wants to know whether the battle will continue during the 24-hour race. Haase doesn’t mind either way.

The #16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II is now in the spotlight and has become a new fan favorite on track. “It’s really great to see the fight between Max and Christopher,” Moser tells GPblog in an exclusive interview. “It’s good to see that we are competitive against Mercedes. I think the other manufacturers don’t exactly know what to expect yet, but we’re not far off,” he continues.

Beyond the massive media storm, he sees more advantages, because it now appears that the Audi is really strong in battles with the other manufacturers: “Last year the gap was a bit bigger; now we’re closer and we have a good package. So I think the fight will continue like in the last races,” says Moser. “However, a 24-hour race is different. We need to be a bit more certain and stay a bit calmer at the start. You can’t win the race in the first hour.”

Scherer Sport PHX is run by Moser and the boss Christian Scherer. As Audi largely stopped their factory involvement for customer racing, before starting the F1 project, they don't receive factory support. With a small team they still achieve great results, and Moser is proud of that: “We are a small group, not as big as the other manufacturers. We don’t have factory support and not a lot of resources, but Audi is still present and we still have many people from the old days involved,” he says.

“For example, the engineers (from Audi, ed.), they are really important to us, that they are still here. We are a small group and we want to show that we can do it and, with the experience we have, that we can beat the manufacturers,” he concludes combatively. One of those manufacturers is, of course, Mercedes-AMG. On Saturday, May 16, Verstappen Racing starts one place behind the #16 Audi of Scherer Sport PHX. It could already turn into a fight at the start.

Whatever happens, it will be just as tense for Moser as the previous battles: “My heart rate was really high back then!” he laughs. “It was fantastic to see. This is what we do it for: these kinds of races. I think the battle will continue, and that we’ll also have a good fight against the others, the Manthey Porsche. BMW, Porsche and Mercedes are strong competitors. We’re going all-in and will certainly put up a fight,” Moser concludes.