Harper, Hesse, Verhagen: Youth BMW M Motorsport drivers takes power

All three are 21 years old, not the most famous in the GT world, but they shine wherever they go. Supported by BMW M Motorsport, Neil Verhagen, Max Hesse and Daniel Harper are doing well for the German manufacturer in GT3. The pandemic could have put a stop to the career of the three drivers who come from the United States (Verhagen), Northern Ireland (Harper) and Germany (Hesse). 

The trio is still on a very good 5th place in the 24H of Spa at the wheel of the #50 BMW M4 GT3/ROWE Racing. Without a puncture at the end of the race, the podium was within reach for the BMW Junior drivers who are in their third year of the programme. Who are they? Where do they come from? 

By recruiting these three youngsters at the beginning of 2020, BMW Motorsport has somewhat surprised the public. Little known to the general public, Daniel Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen have very quickly found their feet in a very competitive and challenging GT discipline. 

For Max Hesse, his career evolved in 2018 when he joined the ADAC TCR Germany. The German driver won the Rookie title in his first year and the following year he took the crown before moving to BMW. Daniel Harper made his mark in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain with Joe Tandy Racing in 2019, taking the title. The Hillsborough native joined the Porsche Junior programme in England for the Cup that same year. Neil Verhagen came from Connecticut. The youngest SCCA National Championship Runoffs champion under the age of 16 has long raced with his brother Alex under the coaching of Stevan MacAleer, who is currently racing in IMSA in the GTD class. In order to give the Verhagen brothers the best chance of success, the family moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, to be closer to the different teams. After finishing second in the Skip Barber Winter Series, Verhagen joined Red Bull to race in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2017, first with MP Motorsport, then with Tech 1 Racing the following year. The Red Bull adventure comes to an end in 2019, the year he moves to British F3 with Double R Racing. 

As soon as they joined BMW, Max Hesse, Daniel Harper and Neil Verhagen shared everything, right down to a flat near the Nürburgring. The pandemic kept the three drivers away from each other and they returned home while playing online in various virtual championships. A close connection had to be maintained. 

Rather than throwing them straight into the deep end of GT3, BMW M Motorsport took it step by step in the Nürburgring Endurance Series. From their third race in a BMW 240i, the trio won their class before moving on to a BMW M4 GT4 and winning their class at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Last year, they switched to a BMW M6 GT3 and won twice. 

ROWE Racing is running the 21-year-old crew in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe this season in the new BMW M4 GT3. BMW Team RMG is doing the same on the Nordschleife. Before Hockenheim, Daniel Harper, Max Hesse and Neil Verhagen are fifth in the Endurance Championship, 34 points behind the leader.