Nurburgring 24 Hours: Porsche takes lead, then crashes out

During hour seven, the #30 Frikadelli Porsche of Sabine Schmitz, Patrick Huisman, Patrick Pilet and Jorg Bergmeister established itself at the head of the field.

But Pilet crashed out on the approach to the Karussel during a rain shower, without injury after reportedly making contact with the #31 Mercedes, and the car was too badly damaged to continue.

That allowed the #1 Audi – crewed by Christopher Haase, Christian Mamerow, Rene Rast and Markus Winkelhock – to hold a substantial lead, ahead of the #19 Schubert BMW Z4.

But the #19 car of Dirk Muller, Alexander Sims, Dirk Werner and Marco Wittmann then had a crash on the Dottinger Hohe straight.

Lengthy repairs in the pits have allowed the #28 WRT Audi R8 of Christopher Mies, Edward Sandstrom, Nico Muller and Laurens Vanthoor up to second as midnight approached.

The pole-winning #26 Marc VDS BMW, which had led for much of the race hit a litany of problems, including a brief pit fire, during which one mechanic suffered superficial burns.

It has slipped towards the bottom of the top 10, but Marc VDS's second car has now climbed to fourth, behind the #4 Phoenix Audi.

Rain has made the event even more treacherous than usual, with lap times way off the usual pace.