Max Verstappen Wins MAX vs 100

Max Verstappen has overtaken all 100 of his competitors in Red Bull’s ‘Max vs 100’, the largest karting race ever staged, completing the challenge on lap 14 of 30 at Silverstone tonight. Starting 101st on a grid built specifically for the event, the four-time Formula One World Champion cleared the field in just 35 minutes.

The scale of it was clear from the moment the grid formed up. Seen from above, 101 karts stretched back along the Silverstone asphalt in rows, with Max right at the back. Ahead of him were 100 Red Bull athletes, Red Bull players, content creators, streamers, journalists and fans from 40 different nations across the world. After a day’s practice session on Tuesday, they took to the track on Wednesday to complete a single Qualifying ahead of the race.

The race was a thriller, with the opening lap deciding half the race. With 101 karts funnelling into the first corners, Max had passed more than ten drivers before he even reached the start line, and at the hairpin the field folded in on itself, karts running into each other and facing the wrong way.

Under the rules, a driver was out the moment the rear of Max’s kart drew level with the front of theirs, so every pass was final. Two minutes in, he was 37th and sixty-three drivers had been eliminated without completing a lap. The race soon settled and the chase was on. Pole-sitter Jacky Martens, YouTuber Zac Alsop and Red Bull Ford Powertrains technician Lewis Osler were out in front and, with 54 minutes still on the clock, the Race Director handed the leading group an extra fast lap. On the next lap, Max finished the job with 35 minutes left on the clock. Behind Zac in fourth, Pol Tarres, Red Bull off-road motorcyclist, was fifth. Italian Content Creator Paky TWC, Livestreamer RDJavi, photographer Larry Chen, mountain biker Bernard Kerr and actor Neo Yau completed the top ten.

Max Verstappen

“When I went to the grid and I saw where I had to start, with 100 karts in front of me, I was a little bit worried. After my first lap with all the carnage, I did think, “Okay we have got this under control”! It started to become really fun and once I started getting into a rhythm and was able to overtake them one by one and saw the gap closing, that was really exciting. It was great to just be in a go-kart again and go back to basics, it reminded me of racing back in the day. It’s a really beautiful track and well designed and it was a nice touch to be able to get all the data fed through the radio too. I had a great day and it was good to come out with the win!”

David Terrien, track designer and Race Director

“Going through the traffic of such a big field, no one has done it. There’s never been a karting race with so many karts. So even Max was questioning himself just before the start, how he could go through the traffic. When you look at the replay, he picked the right spots. Every time there was a gap, he went for it. He was on the right side of the track when there was a crash going on the other side. We gave them more fast laps to allow them to compete and stay in the game longer. But he was just much faster. I think that’s what makes the difference with Max – his starts, and his reaction time. Even if it’s a fun race, he showed his skills in all aspects. I was talking to Max’s race engineer and we were looking at the replay of the start. Max sees something we don’t see. He sees a gap that’s going to open and it’s not open yet. So I think that’s a race vision, that’s something he has that most of the drivers don’t have.”

Oracle technology powered the data and predictive layer behind Max vs 100, turning live timing, GPS data and race modelling into a real-time view of Max’s charge through the field. From tracking gaps and key overtakes to predicting his progress towards the front, Oracle data helped reveal the moments that defined the challenge and shaped the final outcome.

With onboard cameras and microphones on every kart, Max’s exchanges with his challengers went out live as part of the broadcast, presented by BAFTA Award-winning comedian Mo Gilligan. Max’s fastest lap of the race was 2:20.673; the next best was Martens’ 2:23.327, over 2.6 seconds slower. Across the full 35 minutes he passed a driver every 21 seconds on average.

Red Bull’s ‘Max vs 100’ is available to watch again on Disney+ globally and on the ESPN App for ESPN Unlimited subscribers in the U.S., with a broadcast on ESPN2.

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