Neil Verhagen

Neil Verhagen
Neil Verhagen
Nationality	American
Born	February 18, 2001 (age 23); Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States
GTWC Europe Endurance Cup career
Debut season	2022
Current team	BMW Junior Team - ROWE Racing
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	26
Starts	5 (5 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	11th in 2022
Previous series
2020-2021; 2019; 2017-18; 2015-2016; 2015	Nürburgring Endurance Series; BRDC British F3; Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0; F1600 Championship Series; F2000 Championship Series
Championship titles
2016	F1600 Championship Series
Awards
2016	Team USA Scholarship

Neil Verhagen (born February 18, 2001) is a racing driver from the United States of America. Verhagen is the youngest to win the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, having accomplished this in the Formula F category.

Early career

Karting

Neil started indoor karting along with his brother Alex. The duo trained and raced at the Grand Prix New York facilities in Mount Kisco, New York, under the instruction of racing driver Stevan McAleer. McAleer raced many classes and won the 2015 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in the ST class.^[1] After racing at the Oakland Valley Race Park club scene, Verhagen joined the WKA and various Rotax Max racing series.^[2] In 2012 the young driver finished second in the Florida Winter Tour Minimax series. Verhagen beat many hopefuls such as Logan Sargeant, Patricio O'Ward and Trenton Estep.^[3]

To increase their sons chances at a successful racing career, the Verhagen family moved form Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Mooresville, North Carolina, in 2014. The family exchanged the WKA scene for the United States Pro Kart Series.

Lower formulae

The Tatuus Formula Renault 2.0 car as raced by Neil Verhagen in the 2017 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Spa-Francorchamps round.

Verhagen made his auto racing debut at Road Atlanta in the Skip Barber Winter Series. The young driver won the first three races of the championship at Road Atlanta and Sebring International Raceway. Verhagen, racing a Mazda powered Reynard chassis, finished second in the championship.^[4] Later in 2015 Verhagen debuted in the F1600 Championship Series. At the Pittsburgh International Race Complex Verhagen competed in a Spectrum.^[5] At the F2000 Championship Series finale at Pittsburgh Verhagen finished tenth in a RFR F2000.

For 2016 Verhagen joined K-Hill Motorsports in the F1600 Championship Series.^[6] The young driver won the championship beating teammate Peter Portante both racing Mygale SJ11 chassis.^[7] Verhagen also competed in the SCCA club racing scene. Winning the SCCA Majors Tour Northeast Conference Verhagen qualified for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs.^[8] Verhagen went on to become the youngest driver to win the Runoffs at 15 years and 242 days.^[9] Winning the Runoffs, Verhagen qualified for the 2016 Mazda Road to Indy Shootout.

Formula Renault

In 2017, Verhagen was inducted into the Red Bull Junior Team and moved up to the Formula Renault Eurocup with MP Motorsport, alongside fellow Red Bull Junior Richard Verschoor.^[10] He had one podium at Hungaroring and finished the season eleventh, behind his Dutch teammate.^[11]

The following year, Verhagen returned to the Eurocup with Tech 1 Racing, where he finished the championship eleventh.^[12]

BRDC British F3

In 2019, Verhagen lost his backing from Red Bull and moved to the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship with Double R Racing.^[13] He ended the season fifth overall, having taken seven podiums throughout the campaign.

Sportscar career

2020: Victorious GT debut

Verhagen moved to sportscar racing in 2020, driving for Walkenhorst Motorsport as part of the BMW Junior Team in two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series. This included the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, which the American won in the SP8T category driving a BMW M4 GT4.^[14]

2021: Nürburgring Endurance success

For the 2021 season, Verhagen stepped up to the SP9 Pro class to partner Daniel Harper and Max Hesse in a full-time campaign of the Nürburgring Endurance Series, where the trio would compete in a BMW M6 GT3 car.^[15] Verhagen ended up second in the standings, having taken two victories.^[16]

2022: GT World Challenge

The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup would be Verhagen's destination in 2022, racing for the BMW Junior Team with ROWE Racing, once more alongside Harper and Hesse.^[17] After taking their first points in Imola with a fourth-placed finish, the trio ended up fifth in the 24 Hours of Spa, beating their teammates in the sister car.^[18] A further points finish at the Hockenheimring left the American eleventh in the championship, one place ahead of the more experienced line-up of the other Rowe Racing entry.^[19]

As a result of their accomplishments, Verhagen, Hesse and Harper were introduced as fully-fledged BMW works drivers before the 2023 season.^[20]

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2015	F1600 Championship Series	N/A	3	0	0	0	0	31	33rd
2015	F2000 Championship Series	N/A	1	0	0	0	0	21	37th
2015-16	Skip Barber Winter Series	N/A	2	0	0	0	1	53	19th
2016	F1600 Championship Series	K-Hill Motorsports	21	9	4	7	15	832	1st
2016-17	MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship	MRF Racing	4	0	0	0	0	11	15th
2017	Formula Renault Eurocup	MP Motorsport	23	0	0	0	1	59	11th
2017	Formula Renault NEC	MP Motorsport	5	1	0	0	1	47	14th
2018	Formula Renault Eurocup	Tech 1 Racing	20	0	0	0	0	59	11th
2018	Formula Renault NEC	Tech 1 Racing	10	0	0	0	0	31	13th
2019	BRDC British Formula 3 Championship	Double R Racing	24	0	1	0	7	357	5th
2020	Nürburgring Endurance Series - Cup 5	Walkenhorst Motorsport	2	1	0	0	1	15.83	20th
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP8T	Walkenhorst Motorsport	1	1	0	0	1	N/A	1st
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP8T	FK Performance Motorsport	3	0	0	0	1	11.25	4th
2021	24H GT Series - P4	BMW M Motorsport	1	1	0	0	1	0	NC†
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro	BMW Junior Team	7	2	0	0	4	39.22	2nd
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9	BMW Junior Team Shell	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
2022	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	BMW Junior Team with ROWE Racing	5	0	0	0	0	36	11th
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9	BMW Junior Team Shell	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro	BMW Junior Team	2	0	0	0	1	0	NC†
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP85	BMW M Motorsport	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2023	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	ROWE Racing	5	0	0	0	1	33	10th
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9 Pro	BMW Junior Team	3	1	0	0	2	0	NC†
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9	BMW Junior Team	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
	Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS	Fast Track Racing	2	0	0	0	0	150	59th
	GT World Challenge America - Pro-Am	ST Racing	7	1	0	3	5	121	6th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	ST Racing	1	0	0	0	0	4	28th
	ADAC GT Masters	FK Performance Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	16	27th
	ESET Cup Endurance - GT3	Trevor Racing	1	0	0	0	0	12	4th*
	ESET Cup Sprint - GT3	Trevor Racing	2	1	1	0	2	43	3rd*
2024	GT World Challenge America - Pro-Am	ST Racing	13	3	1	1	10	223	2nd
	24H Series - GT4	ST Racing
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro	Paul Miller Racing	3	0	0	1	1	879*	15th*

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year	Track	Car	Engine	Class	Finish	Start	Status
2016	Mid-Ohio	Mygale SJ11	Honda Fit	Formula F	1	1	Running

American Open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

F1600 Championship Series

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Rank	Points
2016	K-Hill Motorsports	ATL 4	ATL 1	ATL 5	WGL 3	WGL 2	WGL 2	VIR 1	VIR 4	VIR 7	MDO 2	MDO 14	MDO 1	PIT 1	PIT 1	PIT 4	NJMP 3	NJMP 1	NJMP 1	VIR 1	VIR 2	VIR 1	1st	832

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	Pos	Points
2017	MP Motorsport	MNZ 1 17	MNZ 2 4	SIL 1 Ret	SIL 2 16	PAU 1 DNS	PAU 2 9	MON 1 12	MON 2 12	HUN 1 3	HUN 2 11	HUN 3 24	NÜR 1 18	NÜR 2 Ret	RBR 1 18	RBR 2 25	LEC 1 7	LEC 2 12	SPA 1 8	SPA 2 8	SPA 3 5	CAT 1 7	CAT 2 Ret	CAT 3 17	11th	59
2018	Tech 1 Racing	LEC 1 7	LEC 2 9	MNZ 1 11	MNZ 2 Ret	SIL 1 10	SIL 2 12	MON 1 6	MON 2 7	RBR 1 4	RBR 2 8	SPA 1 25	SPA 2 22	HUN 1 14	HUN 2 14	NÜR 1 13	NÜR 2 12	HOC 1 7	HOC 2 6	CAT 1 7	CAT 2 7				11th	59

Complete BRDC British Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Pos	Points
2019	Double R Racing	OUL 1 12	OUL 2 2	OUL 3 5	SNE 1 6	SNE 2 3⁸	SNE 3 Ret	SIL1 1 2	SIL1 2 15¹	SIL1 3 5	DON1 1 6	DON1 2 8¹	DON1 3 7	SPA 1 18	SPA 2 3	SPA 3 5	BRH 1 8	BRH 2 4⁵	BRH 3 7	SIL2 1 10	SIL2 2 15	SIL2 3 3	DON2 1 7	DON2 2 3⁶	DON2 3 3	5th	357

Complete Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Pos.	Points
2020	FK Performance Motorsport	BMW M240i Racing	SP8T	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2	NÜR 3							4th	11.25
	Walkenhorst Motorsport	BMW M4 GT4	SP8T				NÜR 4 2	NÜR 5 4					4th	11.25
	Walkenhorst Motorsport	BMW M240i Racing	Cup 5	NÜR 1	NÜR 2 5	NÜR 3 1	NÜR 4	NÜR 5					20th	15.83
2021	BMW Team RMG	BMW M6 GT3	SP9	NÜR 1 8	NÜR 2 Ret	NÜR 3 1	NÜR 4 1	NÜR 5 DNS	NÜR 6 2	NÜR 7 3	NÜR 8 Ret		2nd	39.22
2022	BMW Junior Team	BMW M4 GT3	SP9	NÜR 1 9	NÜR 2	NÜR 3 2	NÜR 4	NÜR 5	NÜR 6	NÜR 7	NÜR 8	NÜR 9	NC†	0
2022	BMW M Motorsport	BMW M4 GT4 Concept	SP85	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	NÜR 3	NÜR 4 Ret	NÜR 5	NÜR 6	NÜR 7	NÜR 8	NÜR 9	NC	0
2023	BMW Junior Team	BMW M4 GT3	SP9	NÜR 1 5	NÜR 2 3	NÜR 3 1	NÜR 4	NÜR 5	NÜR 6	NÜR 7	NÜR 8	NÜR 9	NC†	0

^†As Verhagen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Ovr. Pos.	Class Pos.
2020	Walkenhorst Motorsport	Dan Harper Max Hesse	BMW M4 GT4	SP8T	78	19th	1st
2021	BMW Junior Team Shell	Augusto Farfus Dan Harper Max Hesse	BMW M6 GT3	SP9	54	DNF	DNF
2022	BMW Junior Team Shell	Dan Harper Max Hesse	BMW M4 GT3	SP9	86	DNF	DNF
2023	BMW Junior Team	Dan Harper Max Hesse	BMW M4 GT3	SP9	96	DNF	DNF

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pos.	Points
2022	BMW Junior Team with ROWE Racing	BMW M4 GT3	Pro	IMO 15	LEC 4	SPA 6H 11	SPA 12H 2	SPA 24H 5	HOC 9	CAT 13	11th	36
2023	ROWE Racing	BMW M4 GT3	Pro	MNZ 2	LEC 6	SPA 6H 4	SPA 12H 53†	SPA 24H Ret	NÜR 11	CAT 12	10th	33

^*Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Points
2024	Paul Miller Racing	GTD Pro	BMW M4 GT3	BMW S58B30T0 3.0 L Twin-Turbo I6	DAY 3	SEB	LGA	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS	ATL	3rd*	319*

References

^ "Stevan McAleer". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Neil Verhagen". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Mini Max 2012 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "A day at the races: Skip Barber Summer Series hits soggy VIR". Fox Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "2015 Pittsburgh - Race 1". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Neil Verhagen Announced as Second K-Hill F1600 Driver". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Victory for Title-Winner Verhagen at VIR". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "2016 SCCA Majors Championship Point Standings Northeast Conference". SCCA. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Verhagen Becomes the Youngest SCCA National Champion With Formula F Win". SCCA. 25 September 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
^ "Red Bull adds Ticktum, Verhagen to Junior Team for 2017". January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
^ Allen, Peter (July 1, 2017). "Dan Ticktum clinches first Formula Renault win in Hungaroring opener". formulascout.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
^ Hensby, Paul (January 15, 2018). "VERHAGEN SWITCHES TO TECH 1 RACING, KEEPS RED BULL BACKING". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
^ Wood, Elliot (March 4, 2019). "Former Red Bull junior Neil Verhagen joins Double R for BRDC British F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
^ "BMW Junior Team 2020: Ein außergewöhnliches Jahr mit außergewöhnlichen Leistungen". bmw-motorsport.com. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
^ "GT News Notebook: ADAC GT Masters, N24 & NLS". Dailysportscar. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
^ "Race Results - 61. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen" (PDF). www.vln.de. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ Lloyd, Daniel (16 February 2022). "BMW Junior Team Enters Endurance Cup With ROWE – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
^ "ROWE Racing so close to podium after strong Spa debut for the BMW M4 GT3". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
^ "ROWE Racing rounds off GTWC season with ninth and 13th places at Barcelona". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
^ Plümer, Jonas (2023-01-11). "Nach drei Jahren als BMW Junior Team: Dan Harper, Max Hesse und Neil Verhagen sind BMW M Werksfahrer". gt-place.com (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-01-30.

External links

Neil Verhagen career summary at DriverDB.com

[1] "Stevan McAleer". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[2] "Neil Verhagen". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[3] "Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Mini Max 2012 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[4] "A day at the races: Skip Barber Summer Series hits soggy VIR". Fox Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[5] "2015 Pittsburgh - Race 1". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[6] "Neil Verhagen Announced as Second K-Hill F1600 Driver". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[7] "Victory for Title-Winner Verhagen at VIR". F1600 Championship Series. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[8] "2016 SCCA Majors Championship Point Standings Northeast Conference". SCCA. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[9] "Verhagen Becomes the Youngest SCCA National Champion With Formula F Win". SCCA. 25 September 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.

[10] "Red Bull adds Ticktum, Verhagen to Junior Team for 2017". January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.

[11] Allen, Peter (July 1, 2017). "Dan Ticktum clinches first Formula Renault win in Hungaroring opener". formulascout.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.

[12] Hensby, Paul (January 15, 2018). "VERHAGEN SWITCHES TO TECH 1 RACING, KEEPS RED BULL BACKING". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved March 22, 2019.

[13] Wood, Elliot (March 4, 2019). "Former Red Bull junior Neil Verhagen joins Double R for BRDC British F3". FormulaScout. Retrieved March 22, 2019.

[14] "BMW Junior Team 2020: Ein außergewöhnliches Jahr mit außergewöhnlichen Leistungen". bmw-motorsport.com. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

[NLSRMG-15] "GT News Notebook: ADAC GT Masters, N24 & NLS". Dailysportscar. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.

[16] "Race Results - 61. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen" (PDF). www.vln.de. 10 July 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[17] Lloyd, Daniel (16 February 2022). "BMW Junior Team Enters Endurance Cup With ROWE – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2023-01-30.

[18] "ROWE Racing so close to podium after strong Spa debut for the BMW M4 GT3". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.

[19] "ROWE Racing rounds off GTWC season with ninth and 13th places at Barcelona". www.press.bmwgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-01-29.

[20] Plümer, Jonas (2023-01-11). "Nach drei Jahren als BMW Junior Team: Dan Harper, Max Hesse und Neil Verhagen sind BMW M Werksfahrer". gt-place.com (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-01-30.

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