Max Hesse (25) enjoys another successful season of his career and believes there is still more to come. After winning the 24 Hours of Daytona and an agenda packed with race weekends, Hesse reflects on his journey with BMW, WRT’s progress and why the increasingly competitive regulations leave no room for excuses.
Hesse, born and raised in Wernau, entered his fourth season as BMW Works Driver and fits in perfectly with the winner’s mentality and dedication of the München-based marque. From the start of 2026, Hesse has been busy winning the 24 Hours of Daytona and collecting the silverware at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, while simultaneously competing in both GT World Challenge Europe cups and partaking in GTWC Asia rounds.
BMW’s motorsport DNA shown in every meter they race
The biggest race weekend of the year at the Nordschleife took place around three months ago, but BMW’s performance on home soil remains a hot topic – especially the M3 Touring. It’s a project that defines what BMW stands for: “The unique motorsport DNA and everything included,” Hesse explains, continuing when asked what it means to be part of it: “It’s very nice, of course. In my opinion, that it’s also very special in the current state of motorsport – that BMW was able to get such a project as with the M3 Touring going.
BMW M3 Touring 24H at Goodwood
“It was a proper success in the end. It had a lot of media attention, but in the end, what I also enjoyed was the whole group of development and the drivers, the team. They took it as a proper race, no? They really tried to perform. It wasn’t just for media. I really liked the approach of it: we’re not here to just drive, we want to compete and be at the front. I’m still glad that we beat them!” the 25-year-old cheekily adds.
As has already been announced by BMW, it’s uncertain if the M3 Touring will partake in a race again. “If it does, I’m happy to be on it,” Hesse smiles.
Hesse praises ‘huge step’ of WRT
Until then, the M4 GT3 Evo is his to race around the most challenging tracks in the world. Hesse has rapidly gained experience in the last couple of seasons and puts the bar high for himself. “I would say the last couple of months have been up and down. I think that we were very competitive in all SRO championships and we kept improving.
“As a team, we made a very big step compared to last season. We improved a lot,” he continues. It’s Hesse’s first year in GT World Challenge Europe with WRT, having raced with ROWE Racing in the previous seasons: from 2022 as BMW Junior, and from 2023 until 2025 as Werksfahrer.
In the pool of WRT drivers he fits in well with Kelvin van der Linde, Dan Harper, Charles Weerts, Jordan Pepper and Valentino Rossi – who’s also his teammate in the Sprint Cup. “We maximized our package in most of the races and had good results. The #32 is leading in the Sprint Cup, so that’s nice to see. In Endurance it’s been a bit more difficult. We did a very good race in Spa, but unfortunately didn’t have the package to win. That’s a shame, because we did a good job and everything was perfect. But this also keeps us sharp for next season.”
In general, the youngster from Wernau is happy, although there’s always a small ‘but…’ lingering somewhere: “Yes,” he laughs, “not enough trophies, but there are never enough trophies!”
The margins are finer than ever: ‘The regs force us to be on top of it’
BMW’s factory pool shows a diverse mix of experienced, older drivers, new drivers coming from other manufacturers, and young talent. For Hesse, it provides a good environment to push himself further and work together with the other factory drivers.
“As a manufacturing group we always keep improving. For example, we had Jordan arriving on the 32 with some different thoughts, coming from a different manufacturer [Lamborghini], Kelvin is here for his second year. Maybe myself bringing in some information that we didn’t have in the past…,” he smiles.
Hesse emphasizes the effort that is put in by everyone at WRT: “By racing in Dubai and Bathurst – everywhere. They’re racing a lot. The crew is always in good shape, which is very important for the Sprint. We’re trying to fine-tune every detail, which is also needed because the competition is very, very strong again this season.”
With all manufacturers bringing their best drivers and working tirelessly on their performance, WRT are looking for the final half a tenth to push out of the car. “The regulation changes more or less also forced us to operate like that. The current qualifying format allows you to fight without traffic and out-lap issues.
“After qualifying, there were usually a lot of interviews with drivers saying: I had traffic, I could have done this, I should have done this… Which is off the table now. This forces us to be even more on it. It’s not good enough anymore to have just clean sessions.”
Hesse enjoys mix of endurance and sprint
The pressure seems to be higher than ever and that in a season where Hesse is still getting to grips with the Sprint Cup of GT World Challenge. “2026 obviously started great with a win in Daytona. The Sprint Cup was then new for me this season, but in the end we’re just driving around in circles as fast as we can!
“The approach is a bit different, but I feel comfortable and very happy. Also together with Vale [Rossi]. I think we’re doing a good job. Previously, I’ve only done the endurance side, but it was also a wish for me to get back into the sprint things. I think it’s necessary to do both. Here, you’re immediately out of the box pushing, so the approach is a bit different.”
Sprint Cup, Endurance Cup, joining in GT World Challenge Asia, and some ‘side quests’ in Italian GT – there does not seem to be a weekend off for Hesse. “I love racing for Team Ceccato, it’s really nice,” he smiles. “Unfortunately it’s not possible to do a full season as it clashes with other races, but racing in Italian GT is always good,” Hesse concludes.
