Lulham and Verstappen will go head-to-head at the Nordschleife: 'I did mention it!'

Lulham made quite an impression in his first year in the GT World Challenge Europe, in which he contested both the Endurance Championship and the Sprint Championship.

Together with Thierry Vermeulen, he won the Sprint Cup Gold title, after which he claimed the Endurance Cup Gold title with Vermeulen and Harry King. This year, the Brit shares the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon - except for during the 24 hour Nürburgring race.

Funnily enough, he will actually be racing against them and Verstappen then. Lulham is part of the PROsport Racing Team Bilstein lineup—also in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Has a battle plan already been discussed? “Well, I did bring it up!” Lulham laughs in conversation with GPblog. “It will be difficult to really compare ourselves because we’re running with different tire manufacturers,” he continues.

Verstappen Racing is using Michelin tyres, while PROsport runs Goodyear. “This car is also new for the team compared to Winward Racing. They have experience running the AMG, so we first need to see where we stand with the car,” he says. After all, Winward Racing is a Mercedes factory team.

The Mercedes-AMG GT3 platform is, however, not entirely new to PROsport, as they have won the 24H Series in 2018 with the predecessor to the Evo.

When asked how much of a chance Lulham and teammates Mikaël Grenier, Marek Böckmann, and Adam Christodoulou will have of winning in May, he answers modestly: “I think it might be a bit ambitious to say we’re going to fight Max for the win,” he smiles. “He could probably do that himself; to be honest, it looks like he’s going to. Maybe I’ll see him out on track.”

In recent years, Lulham has of course built up a lot of experience in GT3 racing and has Verstappen as a mentor. “We’ve won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring twice together on the sim, him and I,” Lulham points out. “And we won NLS9 last year. I’ve also seen him do a lot of laps around here, so there are little things I pick up from him.”

Because they both drive the same car, sharing data is a bit easier. That could work in Lulham’s favor in May. “He can provide his insights on how he can help us as well,” he concludes.

Before the battle commences on the Nordschleife from May 14–17, Lulham and Dani Juncadella have collected a podium at Brands Hatch during the first GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup round. Lulham, Juncadella and Gounon are teammates in the GTWCE championship, but the Brit will fight against them during the 24-hour race this weekend.

Former teammates, Thierry Vermeulen and Harry King, are also on the entry list. Vermeulen is part of the #45 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo line-up of Rinaldi by Kondo Racing, with King jumping in the #24 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of High Class Racing. The raceweekend wil kick off with the Adenauer Racing Day on Wednesday, where fans can collect autographs and see the cars up close. The on-track sessions start on Thursday morning.