Team VIP Nurburgring 24H 18 hour report

THE NÜRBURGRING 24 HOUR - TEAM VIP PETFOODS STARE DOWN THE FINAL QUARTER

Six hours are all that remain between Team VIP Petfoods and the chequered flag of their second Nürburgring 24 hour.

With the race start delayed by two hours due to heavy rain, the race will now conclude at 4.50pm local time today (12.50am Monday 11 June AEST), despite five hours of the race being spent on hold due to heavy fog - giving the team a chance to rest-up after an eventful first half of proceedings.

"We qualified well in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, placing 13th which was 8 positions ahead of our 2006 qualifying result," said team owner Tony Quinn.

"After starting the race we encountered some problems, with contact arising between myself and a BMW about 11.53pm (local German time).

"Luckily we were able to get the car back to the pits to make repairs to the radiator, front bumper and other bodywork, losing about three-quarters of an hour in the end.

"Soon after getting back on track they suspended the race due to the thick fog, and I can tell you there is no point asking me how long it was on hold for as there was a fair bit of sleeping going on!"

The race was restarted at 9.45am local time, with the RSR, currently piloted by Baird sitting in 28th and the 996 being steered by Shaun Juniper, Max Twigg, John Teulan and Paul Kelly for the team currently in 33rd.

"After the collision we restarted the race in 161st place, and managed to bring ourselves back up to 30th before the race was suspended," said Tony Quinn.

"We are really happy with how our other boys are going as well in the 996, they are holding their own and putting down really strong and consistent results.

"Really, with a 24 hour race like this, especially with all the carnage we have seen today, to get both cars home will be fantastic."

Of the 220 cars which lined up to start, 144 now remain in the running for the race with approximately 6 hours remaining to run.

-credit: team vip