Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup steered Mercedes AMG into the Bathurst 12 Hour race lead as the GT endurance race entered its final quarter at Mount Panorama.

Whincup, who won this GT endurance race in a Ferrari last year, got to the front before handing the car over Italian co-driver Raffaele Marciello.

They led from Germany’s Christopher Haase (Audi Sport R8) and Steven Kane in the Bentley Team M-Sport entry, with Supercars star Chaz Mostert looming large in the BMW Team Schnitzer entry in sixth and closing fast.

The race has been filled with crashes and a constant stream of safety cars as the professionals largely played a game of survival in the first half while maintaining track position for the end.

After a dominant weekend South African Kelvin Van der Linde came unstuck just under eight hours in when he tangled with a backmarker coming down the mountain.

His Audi was running 1-2 with the sister car being driven at the time by Germany’s Markus Winkelhock.

With severe damage to the left rear Van der Linde nursed the car back to the garage and Garth Tander jumped in, only to be wheeled back into the garage for running repairs.

The campaign of Shane van Gisbergen, Craig Lowndes and McLaren GT works driver Come Ledogar came to an end mid-race with an engine overheating issue.

Earlier, veteran New Zealand driver Andrew Bagnall was transferred to hospital after a big smash at the top of the mountain where he was rear-ended.

The 70-year-old Bagnall, competing in the Pro-Am class of the event in an Audi R8 for the International Motorsport team with fellow Kiwis Matthew Halliday and Johnny Reid, sustained several broken ribs on his right side and a broken right pelvis.

He is expected to make a full recovery.