Perhaps 2nd only to the Dakar in sheer stamina required, the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring is a truly epic race run on the world’s most famous and infamous track. And like last year MINI is in the race with both a factory team (running a JCW Coupe) and the even stronger team Schirra in an R56. You can see updates throughout the race after the break with the latest on top.

(Via MINI Motorsports)

End of the race.

MINI no. 143 finishes 41st overall after 131 laps, 2nd in its class. Congratulations to the team!

Sunday, 9 a.m. CEST:
Nothing doing with less than four litres of displacement? The Nordschleife is only worth it with 600 hp or more? Nonsense! It would be just like MINI for it to be up there in front with a Cup car. And that’s precisely what Hermann Bock, Max Partl and Jörg Weidinger are doing – not only are they ranked second in the SP 2T class, they are also in 52nd place overall after 17 hours of racing around the Green Hell. Things aren’t going quite so well for others, though – having been in excellent spirits in the night, the Schirra MINI then had to retire early due to a defect. This has allowed others to step into the breach, such as s.i.g. Motorsport, who are moving into the final stages of the race ranked 61st overall in their #145 MINI. Only seven more hours of pursuit to go in the “Green Hell” …

Sunday, 02.30 pm CEST:
No.143 MINI improved some more positions to P57 overall, P2 in its class.

Saturday, 22.30 pm CEST:
In the battle for positions with stronger cars MINI is holding its ground, thus showing the deep motorsports roots in its genes again. More than six hours after start of the race MINI #148 has successfully made its way from the 76th position up to 35th overall. MINI #143 is currently running in 59th. Meanwhile, s.i.g. Motorsport’s MINI John Cooper Works Coupé Endurance is the third MINI amongst the top 100 cars, cruising into Sunday 74th overall.

Saturday, 4 pm CEST:
Start of the race. All four private MINI teams enjoy a successful start. The Schirra motoring MINI #148 enters the race 76th overall after securing the best starting positions of all the MINI race cars during the two qualifying sessions. The MINI driven by Hermann Bock, Max Partl und Jörg Weidinger (#143) is starting the race 96th overall while the s.i.g. Motorsport MINI John Cooper Works Coupé Endurance (#145) is only two positions behind. The Besaplast MINI (#144) is trailing from position 100 and the second s.i.g. Motorsport MINI (#146) is starting 112th overall. MINI fans from around the globe are keeping their fingers crossed for a successful race.

Saturday, 1.30 – 3.10 pm CEST:
171 vehicles are heading towards their starting positions on the track from where they will enter the race at 4 pm CEST sharp. Traditionally the track is now open for fans. Tens of thousands of fans flock the track to catch a glipse of their favourite teams and cars before the track is cleared for the start of the race.

For more news from the 2012 Nürburgring 24-hour race, go to Facebook.com/MINImotorsport or read the ticker updates during the race at Twitter.com/MINImotorsport.