Exclusive: Max Hesse on winning Daytona 24 Hours, racing with Valentino Rossi and more!

Credit: Team WRT and BMW

Max Hesse is a rising star in Sportscar racing, having won the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD Pro class at just 24 years old. The German races BMW machinery across a range of different championships, and is currently competing in the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWC EU) alongside MotoGP legend, Valentino Rossi.

Hesse has won three major Endurance races in the IMSA championship, with two wins in 2025. The German won the Six Hours of the Glen and took another victory at Road Atlanta, for Petit Le Mans, before opening 2026 with a historic win at Daytona.

DIVEBOMB's Owen Bradley sat down with Max Hesse at the GTWC EU Monza round to discuss Hesse's season, career, future ambitions and what it is like racing alongside teammates Dan Harper and Valentino Rossi.

Speaking about his 2026 season so far, Hesse said: "I think it can always be better, but starting the year off with a win in Daytona was amazing, first big 24-hour win, first 24-hour win for the BMW M4 GT3, so that was very nice and I think we've been quite competitive in all the races we've done so far. I would've liked to have come away with one or two trophies more, but so far it's going well.

"With races like Monza, a home race for Valentino (Rossi), it's a big commitment and there's a lot of attention, so hopefully we do well and then the rest of June, there's a very big race, so we will try to do as best as we can."

Hesse and Rossi currently sit 22nd in the GTWC standings after three races. The pair have experienced some bad luck so far in the championship, particularly at Monza, where Rossi was involved in the huge opening lap crash. Eventually, the No.46 Team WRT BMW was pulled into the pits to retire from the race.

The No.46 BMW duo will be joined by Harper once again in the Endurance Cup at the end of June for the 24 Hours of Spa, a race which the No.46 squad has a best result of sixth place. Hesse led the 24 Hours of Spa at the midway point in 2025.

Credit: SRO / JEP

Speaking about his goals for the rest of the year, Hesse stated: "Well, there's plenty of racing still left this year, we have eight more race weekends in the GT World of course, and Spa is always a big race for us.

"It's a race that Dan and I have been very close to winning for a couple of years now, but never quite got it done, actually never quite reaching the podium because of tyre punctures and stuff like that. So, looking forward to hopefully having a good weekend in Spa, and it's all to play for still in GT World, plenty to do."

Racing with Valentino Rossi can put a driver under the spotlight, with so much fan expectation and additional pressure. However, the German seems comfortable racing alongside the MotoGP legend.

Talking about working with Rossi, and the additional pressure, Hesse revealed: "To be honest, it's easier than I expected, but I think it's also down to Vale himself, he's just a very easy going guy and you never have the feeling that the spotlight is on you somehow.

"I think the way he comes across to the two of us racing with him in one car, he feels like just another factory driver to be honest. Of course, when you put the suit on and you see all the yellow, it's always nice, and we all know what the 46 stands for."

He added: "I grew up watching him, so that's something special, but once it's racing time, he's just another factory driver to me, and at least he makes it very enjoyable, so for me honestly there's no differences."

When it comes to teammates and partnerships, Hesse and long-time teammate Dan Harper have achieved great success alongside one another, over a span of multiple seasons working together. The pair were part of the line-up that won at Daytona back in January, and have also won and competed in several other events together.

Speaking about his partnership with Harper, he revealed: "I think, one, because our characters are very similar. This is the sixth year together now, so we know each other quite well and I think it's a strong pairing because we grew up together, learning everything together.

"That was the idea behind the junior programme back in the day, and it seems to be working really well. We always like the car in the same way, we know what each other needs, and I feel like there's also no ego, which is quite important, especially in Endurance racing."

He added: "We know we have each other's back, there's no debating on anything and our pace is normally similar. All these things line up together, so we are always very close on pace, there's always something to learn from each other, and I think this makes us a strong pairing, and I think there's more to come, to be honest, so I'm excited to continue for many more years."

Credit: SRO / JEP, Rowe Racing and BMW

Throughout a full calendar year, Hesse often drives in multiple different Sportscar championships. In 2026, Hesse has already competed in the GTWC, IMSA and also raced in the Nürburgring 24 Hours last month.

Racing in several different championships can prove difficult for some drivers, as a driver needs to adapt to different championship rules, different rules around BoP (Balance of Performance) and various other factors.

When asked how he manages to adapt to racing in multiple championships during a year, Hesse stated: "I would say I'm learning more about it, especially this year with taking part in many different championships. This is a great thing, because you just learn more about the car and also the team is operating in a different way, and I think as factory drivers we can give feedback to everybody to make the whole group stronger, which I've found is very beneficial."

He continued: "On another note, it's obviously quite difficult because the rules are a bit different, the tyres are different, tyre heating versus no tyre heating, Pirelli's, Goodyear's, Michelin's. This is a challenge, to be honest, it always takes one or two more laps just to get into the rhythm of things, because if you just do the GTWC, you always know what to expect, it's always the same.

"I think as a young driver, it's a nice challenge and it's exciting. The whole year is exciting, it feels like there's so much motivation to just keep going and going."

Having already taken numerous victories in the IMSA championship, a podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2024 and various other strong results, Hesse is a young driver on a meteoric rise in Sportscar racing.

When asked what his ultimate career goal is, Hesse revealed: "To win everything! We are racing every weekend to win. If I had to choose just one, then as a German with a German brand, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring is always something special, one of the biggest races of the year, it's our highlight of the year with all the attention the event had this year.

"It was awesome to see how much publicity there was, also on BMW's side, how many activities we had, that's something that was very special, but I want to win them all! That's for sure."

The 24 Hours of Nürburgring hosted approximately over 350,000 fans across the weekend, with these numbers likely boosted by F1 champion Max Verstappen, racing at the event in the No.3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes run by Winward Racing.

Credit: SRO / JEP

Hesse ended up on the podium in the race, finishing fourth on the road but moving into third with ROWE Racing, after the Red Bull ABT Lamborghini that finished second was disqualified.

Whilst the German has competed and won several major endurance races, the 24-year old has not yet competed in Hypercar or GTP machinery, which is often considered to be the pinnacle of Sportscar racing machinery.

When asked if he would like to compete with a Hypercar in the WEC, or a GTP in the IMSA championship, Hesse stated: "For sure. At the end of the day it's down to our bosses, so of course I will not say no! At the moment, there are still plenty of things to do in GT, so I'm not worried about a timeline or anything, there's no pressure.

"If the opportunity comes up, of course that would be great - It's the pinnacle, racing a Hypercar at Le Mans is probably one of the coolest things, so if the opportunity arises, definitely not going to say no."

Hesse has enjoyed a great relationship with several teammates at BMW, breeding great success on the track. Drivers frequently have to work with several different teammates throughout a season, and sometimes the drivers they work with at one racing event, could have been their rival at another. The same can also happen in the opposite way, with some drivers initially working together, and then ending up as rivals just a season later.

Speaking about the unique dynamic of teammate relationships in Sportscar racing, Hesse revealed: "It depends really if they change teams and where they have come from. BMW is good as a brand because we all get on with each other, and we obviously split up occasionally and drive with different people in different championships."

He continued: "Everyone in BMW is in the same family, we treat each other really well, I have to say. Of course, when somebody is coming from a different brand, I think it depends on your past experience with the guy, but once they understand how BMW works, they always adjust quite well, the new drivers fit really well into the team, into the driver area too, so it's not been weird at all, I've not had any bad experiences."

Credit: SRO / JEP

Some of the most successful drivers in motorsport have been able to adapt not only to machinery, but to having different teammates, switching teams themselves, and a variety of factors. This is especially poignant in Sportscar racing, as adaptability and versatility are some of the most key factors for a Sportscar driver.

When asked if there was anything he would change about his career, Hesse said: "No, because, I was never coming from a wealthy background, so every year was a struggle to make it to the next year, and I think going through this process, to make it to a Pro level, I think you have to be proud looking back at that, when you see the current state of everything, it's very very difficult to even get to a factory drive."

He added: "There are plenty of brands, plenty of programmes, but there are also a lot of drivers at the moment, which is good in a way but it makes life difficult for the young guys to get in, and without the programme that BMW put up back in 2020, I would definitely not be sitting here at the moment because there would be no way to even get close to this. For me, no regrets, I would not change anything."

Max Hesse will be racing later this month in the GT World Challenge for the 24 Hours of Spa, a race which the German will be hoping to finish well at, given his previous attempts which have seen him nearly walk away with a podium finish on several occasions.

Special thanks to Max Hesse and Team WRT for helping to organise this interview.