That happened faster than expected: The case of the protest filed by Rowe-BMW after the Nürburgring 24-hour race will be heard by the appeal court of the German Motor Sport Association (DMSB) on July 10, 2024. Information from Motorsport-Magazin.com A DMSB spokesman confirmed.
While paddock experts had initially expected the hearing in Frankfurt to take place much later, all parties involved were able to agree on a date in July. On Wednesday, July 10, the DMSB Court of Appeal will make a final decision in the ‘Rowe case’ after the BMW customer team filed an appeal in a timely and proper manner against a protest by the sports commissioners that had previously been rejected.
Result of the 24h Nürburgring 2024 remains provisional
According to the BMW customer team Rowe Racing, the shortest race in the history of the Nordschleife classic, with just 50 laps, was not completed according to the rules. As a result, the minimum pit stop times were not taken into account, which meant that the result was to the disadvantage of the team from St. Ingbert. We have explained exactly what this flag issue is all about in this article:
Rowe: “It’s not about us not wanting other teams to succeed”
A protest lodged after the race by Rowe-BMW and team boss Hans-Peter Naundorf was rejected by the stewards. In his letter of protest against the interpretation of the result, Rowe stated that the race had been “interrupted” at 3:05 p.m. This is usually done with a red flag, not a black and white checkered flag. In this case, different rules apply to the further proceedings and the classification, as was also seen on Saturday with the red interruption at 11:22 p.m.
However, the stewards on site ruled that this terminology was incorrect. Instead, the race was “finished” at that time. The stewards also noted that Rowe Racing had suffered “no disadvantage” as a result of the “chequered flag being shown too early”. And they continued: “Whether the premature waving of the checkered flag is considered an error or not, the order of passing at that time is decisive.” Therefore, Rowe Racing’s protest was unfounded.
Rowe sees things differently and wants to provide clarity before the appeal court – and possibly win the overall victory retroactively at the green table. “I would like to stress very clearly that our decision to go to the DMSB appeal court is not about us not wishing other teams success,” said team boss Naundorf. “We want the sometimes very complex regulations in our sport to be applied reliably and correctly and that all participants can rely on them.”
Ferrari and Porsche are also taking legal action
The ‘Rowe case’ is currently one of several cases in international top-level motorsport that are being preoccupied with courts. In the World Endurance Championship (WEC), Ferrari has gone to the International Court of Appeal. The newly crowned Le Mans winners have appealed against a rejected protest after the WEC race in Spa-Francorchamps (11 May). According to information from Motorsport-Magazin.com in September. In this case – unlike at the Nürburgring – it is about extending the WEC race.
The current case involving the Porsche factory team in Formula E goes back even further. An exclusion of Antonio Felix da Costa in Misano on April 17th is still keeping the lawyers busy to this day. Surprisingly, the hearing before the International Court of Appeal at the FIA’s Paris headquarters on June 7th did not produce a result. The hope is for a decision before the penultimate race weekend in Portland (June 29th-30th).