Haribo Mercedes Continues to Lead N24 at Half Distance

The No. 88 Haribo Mercedes-AMG GT3 continued to lead the Nürburgring 24 at half distance, despite requiring attention to the front bodywork following suspected contact.

With Uwe Alzen, Lance David Arnold, Maximillian Götz and Jan Seyffarth listed in both the No. 88 and No. 8, it was always expected that Haribo would pull one of their two entries and their decision was made easier when No.8 sustained damaged steering at Pflanzgarten.

After pitting to allow the Haribo mechanics to apply tape to the bonnet, the No. 88 led Maro Engel in the No. 4 Black Falcon Mercedes by 23.6 seconds.

The car is running slightly out of sequence after Adam Christodoulou reported a vibration shortly after midnight and made an unscheduled stop only three laps into his stint.

The best of the non-Mercedes contingent was the sole remaining Schubert Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 driven by John Edwards, who overtook the No. 9 Black Falcon Mercedes of Hubert Haupt shortly before the hour mark.

Haupt had earlier enjoyed an entertaining to-and-fro dice for the lead with Götz, but had to concede the position into the Tiergarten after being caught behind the Konrad Motorsport Lamborghini.

Several potential contenders have hit problems, including the No. 30 HTP Mercedes, which crashed at Adenau Forst, while both Aston Martins have also retired due to accident damage.