Max Verstappen denied Nuburgring victory as Audi triumph

Audi claimed victory in the second qualifying race for the Nurburgring 24 Hours following a technical issue for Max Verstappen. 

Initially running fourth after a steady opening lap, Verstappen quickly moved forward after a battle with Christopher Hesse's #16 Audi and the #45 Ferrari 296 GT machine, with Verstappen and Hesse engaging in a terrific battle for the lead.

Verstappen kept Haase behind and created a gap during the first pit stop. After an hour and a half of driving, the difference with the nearest competitor was already up to 30s, but then trouble struck for Verstappen.

His Mercedes machine developed a splitter issue, and forced the F1 driver into the pits, and thus out of contention for the win.

The #16 Audi and #84 Lamborghini were separated by about half a second after this development. However, this gap widened to over 25 seconds during the teams' second pit stops. 

The gap then ebbed and flowed over the next stint, and was down to 11 seconds by the time of the final pit-stops.

The #16 Audi saw the stint out to claim victory from the Lamborghini, with the final podium place going to the #911 Porsche of Manthey Racing.