It's currently 03:52AM here at the Nürburgring as I sit down to try and recap on the last few hours. It has been a couple of very long and hard days with all the team putting in twenty plus hour shifts to try and keep on top of this behemoth.

It's innocent looking enough but trying to get around as much of the track as possible in an attempt to bring as much variety as we can into the stories is starting to take its toll.

All around me, people are vanishing away to try and find a quite corner somewhere to catch some shut eye. Those who remain awake are becoming quieter and quieter as they try and focus what's left of their energy reserves on the task at hand.

So what exactly has been happening since Andy updated you earlier ? To be honest, I'm not 100% sure. Once you venture trackside you become all but cut off from the information feeds that we are so used to at modern race circuits. No where is close by here and trekking out to a section of the course can consume a lot more time than planned for.

However, in passing, I've tried to follow some of the battles throughout the day. Every time I've returned to the press centre, the leading car has been different.

The road legal Aston Martin Zagatos are still running incredibly strong, running second and third in class.

The shot opening this story was the result of a tyre delaminating on this TT RS with some spectacular consequences …

… but leaving a trail of debris behind.

The Farnbacher 458 is all but walking away with the SP8 class ahead of the Zagatos.

Heading out to Flugplatz, it's not hard to see why the name translates to 'Place of Flight' as the #22 SLS AMG demonstrates. 

The Team Need for Speed Dunlop car is currently running 14th overall at the moment.

Hans Stuck, who is racing his final N24 race with his two sons is currently 19th.

Ever since witnessing the dominance of the Manthey car in previous years, I've always been a fan of the team and how they go about their business. The #18 car is currently out in front with under twelve hours to go.

Do I neec a reason to post another shot of the incredibly beautiful Hankook 458?

The F430 based P4/5 is still running within the top forty.

The Golf GTI is still leading its class and looking strong and consistent at the moment.

Darkness began to take over the Eifel region around six hours ago.

With the sun dropping behind the horizon, the drivers faced a new danger in the darkness.

Unfortunately for Team Need for Speed, the #76 car of Sandstrom / Milner / Larsson / Hurtgen has had a race ending accident somewhere out there in the darkness. It was running an absolutely incredible second overall when the car came together with one of the SLS AMG's it was attempting to lap. We're still waiting for the car to be recovered but as you can imagine, the team's morale has taken a huge hit.

It's now time for us all to rally together and get behind the #4 Team Need for Speed Dunlop car, but there is still a long way to go.

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Paddy McGrath