Nurburgring 24 Hours: Max Verstappen car in third after first hour of racing

Max Verstappen's Mercedes AMG-GT3 is running in third place after the first hour of action at the Nurburgring 24 Hours. 

Despite having a full 24 hours to make progress, drivers were desperate to make immediate gains, taking advantage of the dry conditions with wet weather forecast for later in the race.

Having locked out the front row, it was a disastrous start for the pair of Red Bull Team Abt Lamborghini Huracan GT3s, with the pole-sitting #84 entry driven by Mirko Bortolotti suffering a puncture before leaving the Grand Prix loop, and being forced to stop. 

The #130 sister car, which had assumed the lead with Marco Mapelli at the wheel, was then hit with a 32-second penalty for a jump start. 

Verstappen got into the car two minutes before the hour mark hit, after Daniel Juncadella, who qualified the Mercedes AMG-GT3 in TQ3, started the race.

Prior to the stops, seven laps had been completed, with the Verstappen car running in third position. 

Juncadella was also involved in drama in the opening exchanges, touching the rear of the #84 Lamborghini, before later putting two wheels onto the grass and dropping briefly to fourth place.

Former British GT champion Dan Harper found himself in strife on the opening lap, spinning his BMW M4 GT3 midway around the Grand Prix circuit. Having started in 18th place in the top class, he dropped back to 29th overall, and last in his class with the moment.

Highlighting the speed difference between the SP9 class and the slowest categories on display, it took less than a lap for the leaders to close down the backmarkers, although this was exaggerated by the three-tier staggered start, with each group split by three minutes.

Stint lengths in the race are expected to be no more than eight laps, and will be fuel-limited for the most part. 

The race will conclude at 2pm BST on Sunday afternoon.