| Max Hesse | |
| Nationality: | German |
| Birth Date: | 23 July 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Wernau, Germany |
| Racing Licence: | FIA Gold |
| Current Series: | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup |
| First Year: | 2022 |
| Current Team: | ROWE Racing |
| Car Number: | 998 |
| Starts: | 11 (11 entries) |
| Wins: | 1 |
| Podiums: | 3 |
| Poles: | 0 |
| Fastest Laps: | 1 |
| Best Finish: | 10th |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Prev Series: | Nürburgring Endurance Series ADAC TCR Germany |
| Prev Series Years: | 2020–22 2017–19 |
| Titles: | ADAC TCR Germany |
| Title Years: | 2019 |
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]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | DC | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Aust Motorsport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | LAU 1 | LAU 2 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | 43rd | 0 | |
| 2018 | PROsport Performance | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | MST 1 | MST 2 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | 6th | 247 | |
| 2019 | Hyundai Team Engstler | Hyundai i30 N TCR | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | MST 1 | MST 2 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | 1st | 438 |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Walkenhorst Motorsport |  Dan Harper Neil Verhagen | BMW M4 GT4 | SP8T | 78 | 19th | 1st | |
| 2021 | BMW Junior Team Shell |  Augusto Farfus Dan Harper Neil Verhagen | BMW M6 GT3 | SP9 | 54 | DNF | DNF | |
| 2022 | BMW Junior Team Shell | Dan Harper Neil Verhagen | BMW M4 GT3 | SP9 | 86 | DNF | DNF | |
| 2023 | BMW Junior Team | Dan Harper Neil Verhagen | BMW M4 GT3 | SP9 | 96 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ROWE Racing | BMW M4 GT3 | Pro | IMO | LEC | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | HOC | CAT | 11th | 36 | |
| 2023 | ROWE Racing | BMW M4 GT3 | Pro | MNZ | LEC | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | NÜR | CAT | 10th | 33 | |
| 2024 | ROWE Racing | BMW M4 GT3 | Pro | LEC | SPA 6H | SPA 12H | SPA 24H | NÜR | MNZ | JED | 4th* | 36* |