Dan Harper: 'I couldn't see two metres in front of me' - NI teenager triumphs in 'insane' 24-hour race

"It's the most demanding track, especially in those conditions, and there is no room for error."

Since his move to become a Junior BMW driver in the Eifel hills in the spring, Northern Irish teenager Dan Harper knows all too well about the lurking danger at the famed Nordschleife circuit at the Nürburgring.

Spanning almost 16 miles with some 170 turns, the Nordschleife circuit firmly earns its reputation as the 'Green Hell', and it was the location of Harper's maiden 24-hour race on Saturday.

Harper, along with fellow Junior drivers and team-mates Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse, have been living and breathing, and more importantly, racing on the famous circuit

Despite a nine-hour red flag due to heavy rain and fog, the trio triumphed in their class in the Nürburgring 24 hour race, finishing in 20th overall in an impressive team performance in a BMW M4 GT4 machine.

Harper was elected to start the race, and with the skies emptying, his first laps "were pretty tentative".

"Before the race started I had only done two laps in the wet, so I was quite nervous," he added.

"In the first two laps I was around 20 seconds slower than the fastest guys in our class, but for the rest of that stint I was the fastest out there for most laps.

"You just want to be the fastest car all the time, but you can't win the race in the first hour. You have 24 hours to make up the time, so losing 30 seconds at the start isn't a massive problem."

Everything was going to plan, however as night fell, the rain became heavier and fog started to obscure the vision of the drivers.

Harper was once again behind the wheel as conditions became worse, before race officials red flagged and suspended the race for nine hours until daylight burst through the trees and the rain relented.

"The fog was the big problem, I literally couldn't see two metres in front of me," said Harper on his experience before the red flag.

"Even with the air con and the heated screen, the humidity was so high that it just stayed fogged up.

"Every time I went down the big straight near the finish I was trying to wipe the window with my hand to try and clear it.

"I was just happy to get the car back in one piece and it was definitely the safest decision to red flag the race. It was just insane, to be honest."

Imagine driving along a motorway at night in the fog and rain, now increase the speed up to 160mph and add in several dozen race cars around you - that creates quite a challenge.

"In the daytime you usually have a bit of time to look in your mirrors and see who is around you, but at that point I was just focusing on myself and the two metres in front of me," Harper said.

"It was hard enough to keep it on track without worrying about anyone else flying past you.

"I'm delighted with how I performed personally. My first two race stints were, without a doubt, the toughest conditions I've ever raced in."

The team built up a strong lead before the red flag and it was a case of bring the car home safely once racing resumed.

There was a late scare in the final couple of hours when Verhagen had a spin, however the American driver recovered to the track without any damage.

"That was the only moment when it looked like it wasn't going to work, but he somehow managed to keep it out of the wall," added Harper.

With the nine-hour gap in racing, Harper admits he didn't get "the full 24-hour race experience" however he says the winning moment was one to savour.

"The last lap was probably the most nerve-wracking because we were pretty tight on fuel," he added.

"We didn't want to do nearly 24 hours and then not make it on the last lap because we had run out.

"It was such a good feeling to get to the end and to get that result, it just makes it even sweeter."