START OF SIM-RACING
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In 2008, at the age of 4, I first sat behind the wheel – virtually. GTR2 and later rFactor were my first race simulators. Not just games, but realistic from the start: no assists, no arcade feel – just me, the car, the track and the (AI)competitors.
My first laps: race driver on a pcLater in life I switched to Assetto Corsa, and eventually to iRacing – for me, the most realistic and toughest SIM-racing platform. Many professional drivers also drive there, the F1 World Champion Max Verstappen is just the most well-known example – and he even races GT3 and Hypercar events on iRacing the night before his real F1 races. One of my closest SIM-racing friends is Frederik Vesti, 2023 Formula 2 vice-champion. Knowing me as a racing driver, he firmly believes in me – and I wear his original F2 gloves in every of my real-world races.
My first laps: race driver on a pcLater in life I switched to Assetto Corsa, and eventually to iRacing – for me, the most realistic and toughest SIM-racing platform. Many professional drivers also drive there, the F1 World Champion Max Verstappen is just the most well-known example – and he even races GT3 and Hypercar events on iRacing the night before his real F1 races. One of my closest SIM-racing friends is Frederik Vesti, 2023 Formula 2 vice-champion. Knowing me as a racing driver, he firmly believes in me – and I wear his original F2 gloves in every of my real-world races.
That early discipline in the race simulator shaped me. It sharpened my feel for the car, formed my racecraft – and laid the foundation for everything that followed in motorsport.
PERFORMANCE TENNIS START
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My first life as a competitive athleteIn 2009, at age 6, I was discovered as an exceptional talent in tennis. From the age of 7, I regularly competed in national tournaments, trained with top coaches, and chased my dream of becoming a professional tennis player. At 15, I was accepted into the state elite squad by D. Hordorff, former top coach and vice president of the German Tennis Federation. In his words, I was “the only one left in this land with real potential.” Soon after came the C-pandemic and with it many changes – and my environment in tennis also began to increasingly fall apart.
My tennis record so far is as follows:
- Competitive tennis since the age of 6
- District performance squad player in TBF
- State performance squad player in HTV
- Top 100 junior in Germany for many years
- Top 10 junior in Hessen for many years
- On DTB men's ranking list since the age of 16
- Tournament player (highest ranking in 02/2025 - DTB 281/ LK 1.5)
- Hessen League player
- DTB-B certified performance coach
My tennis record so far is as follows:
- Competitive tennis since the age of 6
- District performance squad player in TBF
- State performance squad player in HTV
- Top 100 junior in Germany for many years
- Top 10 junior in Hessen for many years
- On DTB men's ranking list since the age of 16
- Tournament player (highest ranking in 02/2025 - DTB 281/ LK 1.5)
- Hessen League player
- DTB-B certified performance coach
Many years of intense competition and over 500 tournament matches have conditioned me mentally. I learned to stay cool under pressure, read the game, be patient, face challenges head-on, believe in myself, and make split-second decisions – all crucial skills also in motorsport today.
RACE KART EXPERIENCE
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The first real gripAs I already mentioned, I was a passionate kart racer as a child. Between 2011 and 2013, at the age of 7-9 years, following in the footsteps of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, I completed many thousands of laps with my racing karts (CRG and later TonyKart) on well-known kart tracks such as Wittgenborn, Oppenrod, Airport Hahn, Schaafheim, etc. Even back then, I was always 100% focused, giving it my all, and constantly chasing lap records. This period laid an early foundation for my real motorsport experience; it profoundly shaped me and continues to influence me today.
EARLY signs of A REMARKABLE Talent
Although I was always using second-hand equipment and used tires, I developed a strong pace during my first season and posted remarkable lap times, usually reserved for drivers with new gear. In Wittgenborn, for example, I was only fractions of a second off the then-official Bambini lap record.
These were already strong indicators of my motorsport talent. But a typical karting race season was only realistic if I had quit performance tennis. And that was not an option at the time.
EARLY signs of A REMARKABLE Talent
Although I was always using second-hand equipment and used tires, I developed a strong pace during my first season and posted remarkable lap times, usually reserved for drivers with new gear. In Wittgenborn, for example, I was only fractions of a second off the then-official Bambini lap record.
These were already strong indicators of my motorsport talent. But a typical karting race season was only realistic if I had quit performance tennis. And that was not an option at the time.
VIDEO: SHORT IMPRESSION - DENIS KART 2011
As a 7-year-old kart driver and only 2 months into Bambini karting, I achieved my personal record in July 2011 on the kart racing track in Oppenrod: 47 fast, consistent and error-free laps in a row (until the fuel tank was as good as empty).
In 2017, at age 13, I occasionally got into a Maranello Rotax Max Junior kart. More power, more speed – and immediately the same old feeling: I can do this. I hadn’t lost a thing. And that’s still true today – virtually and in real life.
However, tennis once again had the upper hand in the battle of the talents and so I was still unable to pursue motorsport properly. Thanks to intensive years in SIM-racing, I was still able to further perfect my driving skills.
However, tennis once again had the upper hand in the battle of the talents and so I was still unable to pursue motorsport properly. Thanks to intensive years in SIM-racing, I was still able to further perfect my driving skills.
F-4 ON THE NÜRBURGRING
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FiRST TIME IN A REAL RACE CARLate summer 2022, Nürburgring GP circuit. I was 18 years old and it was my first time in a real race car and on a real race track – and it felt instantly like I'd never done anything else in my life. In the end, I was by far the best and fastest graduate of the Nürburgring Driving Academy's two-day Formula 4 course. The course's lead instructor, Klaus Panchyrz, a former well-known racing and factory driver, was full of praise and said the following about me at the final debriefing:
"A natural-born racING driver,
I RARELY MEET SOMEONE LIKE HIM ... A TRUE JOY TO WATCH HIM AND HIS SUPERIOR DRIVING SKILLS” He added, though: “Talent alone, no matter how great, is no longer enough today. Without serious money, even the best don’t make it.”
"A natural-born racING driver,
I RARELY MEET SOMEONE LIKE HIM ... A TRUE JOY TO WATCH HIM AND HIS SUPERIOR DRIVING SKILLS” He added, though: “Talent alone, no matter how great, is no longer enough today. Without serious money, even the best don’t make it.”
SIM-RACING
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Auf höchstem LEVEL unterwegs THE FIRST PROOF OF MY CLASS
2023 - Straight to three consecutive Overall CHAMPION (Hypercar) titles in the top splits of official multi-class series – on the world’s toughest SIM racing platform (iRacing). That success in SIM-racing was the foundation – and the spark – for everything that followed in real-world racing after 2024.
2023 - Straight to three consecutive Overall CHAMPION (Hypercar) titles in the top splits of official multi-class series – on the world’s toughest SIM racing platform (iRacing). That success in SIM-racing was the foundation – and the spark – for everything that followed in real-world racing after 2024.
MY RACE DEBUT
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Nürburgring NORDSCHLEIFE
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R C N - my entry into the "Green Hell"In 2025, I proved myself in the RCN (Rundstrecken Challenge Nürburgring) on one of the world’s toughest circuits – the Nürburgring Nordschleife. With real pace and the clear goal of learning to master this motorsport legend as a real racing driver.
N L S - "GREEN HELL" - ONE STEP HIGHERIn 2025, I stepped up to the legendary NLS (Nürburgring Endurance Series) and got to drive a GT4 race car for the first time. My RCN experience helped me to focus entirely on my most powerful race car to date – and to push myself close to its limits after just a few laps and achieve impressive lap times on the Nordschleife.