Land Audi Leads Into Final Six Hours at N24

The No. 29 Audi Sport Team Land R8 LMS continues to lead the Nürburgring 24 Hours heading into the final six hours, but has seen its lead reduced to under a minute.

With 118 laps completed, Kelvin van der Linde has a 52.6 second margin over Robin Frijns in the No. 9 WRT Audi, which gained ground in the early hours of the morning with Rene Rast at the wheel.

Van der Linde’s team-mate Markus Winkelhock was fortunate to survive a brush with a slower car at Platzengarten, but luck deserted the sister No. 28 Land crew, which suffered two left-rear punctures at sunrise and has dropped to the fringes of the top 20.

The No. 43 Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M6 was also delayed by a puncture after Antonio Felix da Costa clipped the No. 173 TCR Audi at Platzengarten, promoting Markus Palttala’s No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW to third.

The Finn is one minute and 20 seconds off the lead, within striking distance in the event of a problem for the lead car.  

Augusto Farfus re-joined a lonely fourth after the issue for da Costa, with Peter Dumbreck’s No. 44 Falken Motorsport BMW and the No. 42 Schnitzer BMW, which lost time in the night with a faulty fuel pump, completing the top six.