The ‘Alesia Kreutzpointner case’ is still causing discussions among fans and paddock insiders days after the 2024 24h Nürburgring. The 25-year-old had her Nordschleife permit revoked and was fined 1,500 euros after her accident with Sheldon van der Linde’s Rowe BMW.
Quite a few observers believe that this punishment was far too high. Motorsport-Magazin.com has asked the German Motor Sport Association (DMSB) and wanted to know how exactly the sports commissioners justify this penalty for the crash, which not only took Kreutzpointner’s Porsche Cayman but also the leading Rowe-BMW out of the race early and as a result of which the 1 Series BMW of Giti Tire overturned.
Alesia Kreutzpointner: Saw Rowe-BMW, changed lane anyway
“The driver admitted that she did not act appropriately,” a DMSB spokesperson explained when asked. “She collided with another vehicle (Giti-BMW; ed.), but she did see the following vehicle (Rowe-BMW; ed.) in the mirror. Nevertheless, she changed lanes and thereby caused the collision.”
And further: “Even from the perspective of the following vehicle (Rowe-BMW; ed.), the situation was apparently clear: Two vehicles in front of him had visibly slowed down, so he had to assume that both had seen the faster vehicle and let him pass. Sheldon van der Linde was not prepared for Alesia Kreutzpointner’s sudden swerving.”
Rowe-BMW driver van der Linde, who stressed that Kreutzpointner had apologized immediately and repeatedly after the accident, suspected that he had driven in the blind spot of the Cayman-Porsche shortly before overtaking. However, this was apparently not the case, according to the DMSB spokesman after consulting the sports commissioners.
DMSB: “Withdrawal of the permit is one of the lesser penalties”
Kreutzpointner was not the only one who had to hand in her ‘Nordschleife driving license’ during the long Nürburgring weekend. YouTuber Steve Alvarez Brown was also caught speeding in the night qualifying session after he was caught speeding in his BMW M4 GT4 at 145.5 km/h during a Code 60 phase, where only 60 km/h is actually permitted. The Briton was also disqualified and was therefore not allowed to take part in the 24-hour race.
How should the withdrawal of the driver’s permit be classified from the DMSB’s point of view? “The withdrawal of the permit for one race is one of the lesser penalties that are possible in this context,” it said. A report to the DMSB sports court in order to obtain a license withdrawal for all car races, not just on the Nordschleife, would be much more drastic. “The driver will have to sit out one race and then do another e-learning course to prepare her for the special Nordschleife races.”
Punishment for Kreutzpointner “sufficient, but necessary”
This is likely to remain the case after the sports commissioners noted in their decision after the hearing that the punishment for Kreutzpointner was “sufficient but necessary”. The DMSB spokesman explained: “For the higher authority (the sports court), it is an indication that the punishment was sufficient – no additional punishment is necessary. Some punishments – such as a license withdrawal or very high fines – can only be imposed by the sports court, not by the sports commissioners on site.”
The repeatedly hotly debated Nordschleife permit exists, among other things, so that stewards have the opportunity to punish individual drivers and not the entire team for offenses that are specific to the Nordschleife. These include offenses that have to do with the special situation of speed differences due to multi-class racing, as is the case in the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring.
Kreutzpointner professional: Honest information given and judgment understood
The fact that Kreutzpointner was apparently insulted and attacked on social media after the accident revealed the ugly side of the internet. The racing driver’s daughter also received public support as a result, including from Rowe Racing co-owner Dr. Alexandra Kohlmann and from Sheldon’s older brother Kelvin van der Linde. “The tone of many was: ‘It was obvious, a woman.’ For me, it was unbearable,” Dr. Kohlmann wrote on Instagram.
The DMSB spokesman expressly rejected fan allegations that the punishment for Kreutzpointner was so high only because of her gender and noted that Stefanie Kleiber, a woman, was on the committee of sports commissioners.
“According to the sports commissioners, Alesia Kreutzpointner, together with a team representative, acted highly professionally throughout the entire process despite her youth, gave honest information and also understood the verdict,” said the DMSB. “The discussions about the verdict are therefore more in the domain of the fans than with the driver herself.”
Alesia Kreutzpointner, the daughter of former DTM driver and Le Mans starter Fritz Kreutzpointner, made her debut in motor racing in 2020 and initially competed in the ADAC GT4 Germany. In 2021 and 2022, she also competed in races at the Nürburgring as part of the NLS series and in the BMW M2 Cup. In 2023, she and her sister Jacqueline obtained their Nordschleife permit with Team Four Motors, for which they competed in the Nürburgring 24-hour race this year.