News and quotes after 21 hours

Drama for the Verstappen team: shortly after 11:00 a.m., Max Verstappen handed the leading Mercedes-AMG GT3 over to team-mate Daniel Juncadella, only for the car to return to the pits two laps later with driveshaft damage. While the team began lengthy repairs, the fight at the front was reshuffled. Behind the RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG GT3, the chasing pack now features the #34 Aston Martin in second place, followed by the Rowe BMW #99, the Abt Lamborghini #84 and the BMW Touring #81. As things stand, these five cars look set to decide the battle for the podium in the closing hours.

#3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3)

11:08 a.m. - pits for a stop, with Verstappen remaining in the car

11:32 a.m. - Max Verstappen: "My stint went well. Now in daylight, I mainly tried to play it safe while of course still keeping a decent pace. It felt like the car was working well. So I just tried to stay out of trouble, which got very close on the last lap when two cars collided in front of me. What I like about GT3 racing is the competition and the fact that in an endurance race you alternate with your team-mates. At the 24h Nürburgring, the track is also super demanding, so it is simply a good combination. For us, things could not have gone better so far. But there are still a few hours to go. We really just need to stay focused and then we will see where we end up. Will I come back next year? Sure - I will definitely try. It always depends a bit on my schedule. But for now, let's enjoy this race first."

11:37 a.m. - returns to the pits, is refuelled and pushed into the garage

11:38 a.m. - the team begins work on the right-rear wheel area

11:48 a.m. - suffers a technical issue at the right rear, with no outside contact. The Mercedes-AMG is under repair and expected to return to the track.

11:51 a.m. - Daniel Juncadella climbs out of the stricken car

#8 Veremenko / SELV / Erhart (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)

11:25 a.m. - pushed into the garage, where work begins in the engine bay

#26 Christodoulou / Lulham / Grenier / Böckmann (Mercedes-AMG GT3)

10:14 a.m. - team management announces that the AMG must be retired on safety reasons

#34 Krognes / Drudi / Thiim / Fernadez Laser (Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO)

10:01 a.m. - Mattia Drudi pits and also serves the time penalty for overtaking under yellow

#61 Adelson / Arnold / Green / Van der Zande (HWA EVO.R)

10:07 a.m. - Adam Adelson: "It was great. Probably the most straightforward double stint I have ever done in this race. The traffic really was not too bad. There were not too many yellow phases or Code 60 phases. I just tried to drive as fuel-efficiently as possible to make sure we could get the full eight laps out of the car. Other than that, it was just about hitting my braking points cleanly, continuing to learn, gaining experience and simply enjoying it. The night was not quite as much fun for me. Whenever I really should have been on dry tyres, I felt like I was on wet tyres. And whenever I needed wet tyres, it felt like slicks. But honestly, probably no tyre was the right choice for the conditions I had during the night. I think we really could have used something like an intermediate - something in between. And in a situation like that, it is just damn difficult. I think I got a pretty good taste of why they call this place the 'Green Hell'."

#71 Blank / Kaffer / Großmann / Jöns (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)

11:03 a.m. - Otto Blank: "The car is running. Considering that this is the first time we have been out together with me in the team, we can be quite satisfied. We had a small crash during the night, which cost us 10 or 12 laps. Now we are in a good place for pace and can look ahead positively."

#80 Engel / Stolz / Schiller / Martin (Mercedes-AMG GT3)

11:08 a.m. - pits for a stop, with Verstappen handing over to Juncadella

11:35 a.m. - Maro Engel moves into the lead

#81 Klingmann / de Wilde / de Phillippi / Verhagen (BMW M3 Touring 24h)

10:38 a.m. - pits for a stop, with Neil Verhagen handing over to Connor de Phillippi

11:44 a.m. - Connor de Phillippi climbs to third place

11:53 a.m. - returns to the pits

#82 Marco Vitonelli / Schröder / Pydys / Brandl (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))

11:05 a.m. - makes contact in the Schwalbenschwanz section

#84 Engstler / Bortolotti / Niederhauser (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)

10:38 a.m. - pits for a stop, with Niederhauser handing over to Engstler

10:44 a.m. - Patrick Niederhauser: "The second stint was quite exhausting. A little more drizzle here and there every lap. So the Nordschleife at its best. We had the perfect tyres on. We stayed on slicks. It never got wet enough to run anything else. The car is running brilliantly."

11:43 a.m. - Luca Engstler moves up to second place

11:51 a.m. - second-placed Luca Engstler pits

#99 Harper / Hesse / Van der Linde / Vanthoor (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)

10:09 a.m. - Max Hesse: "To be honest, this race is going against us. Every Code 60 phase catches us at the wrong time, after the spin already on the very first lap. We are trying our best, pushing flat out every lap. But at the moment, it just does not seem to be our year."

#123 Rump / Bünnagel / Brundle (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)

10:05 a.m. - Alex Brundle: "Honestly, it is not that bad compared with some of what we otherwise get in the race. The track is completely dry. I think our car is set up very much for durability. We took a very conservative approach with things like camber and tyre load. If you look at the timing screen, that has paid off."

#130 Mapelli / Catsburg / Yelloly (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)

11:22 a.m. - stops on track with a technical issue in the Galgenkopf section

#300 Kriese / Geilfus / Neumann / Becker (Dacia Logan)

11:45 a.m. - comes to a halt in the Adenauer Forst section after losing the left-front wheel

#380 Strycek / Schäffer / Morhin / Soumagne (Opel Corsa GS Line 130*)

10:23 a.m. - Jan Soumagne: "The race began with a scary moment. We were hit by another car on the first lap or within the first few minutes. Volker Stryczek was still in the car then. For me, things were basically quite calm. I stayed out of everything wherever possible and just drove my own race. I have now completed four or five stints - two of them during the night."

#665 Ullrich / Steffens / Von der Sanden / Reinhard (BMW M240i Racing Cup*)

10:49 a.m. - John van der Sanden: "I had a double stint during the night, now I have done another stint and I drove yesterday as well. We are now in first place. But it depends a little on the pit stop strategy of the other teams."

#667 Simon / Mulready / Breakell / Fontes (BMW M240i Racing Cup*)

10:28 a.m. - the BMW M240i comes to a stop on the kerb at the exit of Fuchsröhre and is currently being recovered by the DMSB crew

10:34 a.m. - has now been cleared from the track at Breidscheid

#821 Heidler / Steiger / Epp / Weber (Audi RS3 LMS DSG*)

11:32 a.m. - Stefan Epp: "Things have gone well so far, we have come through well and I had plenty of driving time. We were able to consolidate second place in class. Our car is a Permit B car, which means we have 50 hp less power and more weight. Now it is a case of keeping our fingers crossed that it continues like this. If you pay close attention, it was actually manageable. The first hour was a bit rough, it takes a little while for everything to settle down. But after that, it really worked. If you keep an eye on all of that, then it runs smoothly."

#909 Sander / Krämer / Leo Messenger / Comazzi (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992))

11:33 a.m. - limps slowly through the Karussell with a right-rear tyre failure

11:46 a.m. - makes it back to the pits at reduced speed after suffering a right-rear tyre failure

#961 Rauer / Makes / Zhang / Lu (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))

10:27 a.m. - Marius Rauer: "The stint actually started quite well. I felt comfortable and I think I was going pretty quickly too. But then I suddenly had brake problems on the last lap, the brake pedal went all the way to the floor. I felt like I only had braking on the rear axle. I then had to limp the car back around the lap and hope the guys can fix the car so that we can get back out later and attack again."

#962 Oberheim / Miemois / Stegmann / Wiedmann (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport (Typ 982))

11:13 a.m. - Lorenz Stegmann: "So far, the race has gone quite well. We have been leading the class for quite a while now, which is great. We had two small collisions during the night, which set us back a little. It is always a bit difficult at the front left because the wheel arch ventilation is broken. As a result, we are struggling a bit with a hot wheel and a hot brake. We have a six-minute lead over second place. That means that, in the end, it is really all about managing things at the moment, taking no more risks and simply bringing it home over the final four hours."

#992 Griesemann / Griesemann / Adorf / Holzer (Porsche 911 GT3 CUP MR)

11:07 a.m. - Björn Griesemann: "I had a super stint. I enjoyed it enormously. We had a longer stop due to a small stone. The guys took out the engine and got everything ready again. I was then able to go out for the double stint and had an unbelievable amount of fun. The track was good, all the participants were super respectful. This small stone blocked the throttle valve. That cost us two and a half hours."

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