The 24h Nürburgring 2024 will continue after a break of around 14 hours. At 12:54 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, the race management announced that the 52nd edition of the Eifel classic would continue. The restart will take place at 1:30 p.m. with five formation laps. This means that there would theoretically be another 2:30 hours of driving time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife before the finish line at 4:00 p.m. today.
But: It is not yet clear whether the race can really be finished. Five formation laps were initially specified so that at least all drivers have the opportunity to complete the minimum number of laps specified by the regulations. If the weather clears up during these laps, the race will be allowed to continue. Otherwise, the race will be called off.
The race management had to stop the race on Saturday shortly before midnight with red flags. Due to the heavy fog, the necessary safety for the participants and track marshals was no longer guaranteed. Race director Walter Hornung had red flags waved at 11:22 p.m.
24h Nürburgring: All interruptions in the history of the race
| Year | Reason |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Interruption without time due to fog and rain |
| 1994 | 4 hours interruption due to a storm |
| 2007 | 6 hours interruption due to fog |
| 2013 | 9 hours interruption due to rain and fog |
| 2016 | 3.5 hours interruption due to hail |
| 2018 | 2 hours interruption due to fog |
| 2020 | 9.5 hours interruption due to rain |
| 2021 | 14.5 hours interruption due to fog |
| 2024 | 14 hours interruption due to fog |
24h Nürburgring interrupted after 7:22 hours
By then, 7:22 hours had passed since the start of the race on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. At the time of the cancellation, the #16 Scherer-Audi (Stippler/Mies/Feller/Marschall) was leading ahead of the #72 RMG-BMW (Harper/Hesse/Weerts) and the third-placed #911 Manthey-Porsche (L. Vanthoor/Preining/Estre/Güven). 13 cars were on the lead lap at the restart. It was the ninth interruption in the history of the Nürburgring 24-hour race and the first since 2021 (14.5-hour interruption).
On Sunday morning, the race management drove several laps around the race track to check the current conditions. At 9:30 a.m., the pit lane lights turned green so that the teams could prepare for the restart. After numerous update reports, the experienced race director Hornung gave the green light for the race to resume with formation laps in the hope of being able to drive until the planned finish at 4:00 p.m.
24h Nürburgring: How the restart works
The procedures in the event of a red flag are complex but clearly regulated: The restart takes place in three groups, with the first group being lined up in a row (not one behind the other) and the second and third groups setting off from a formation that also forms a row within the first lap. All participants initially resume the race behind the leading vehicle, which pulls out after the first lap. Then full throttle is allowed again.
The starting order for the restart is not based on the last position before the race was stopped. Instead, the lap in which the class leader crossed the finish line for the second-to-last time before the red flag applies. The minimum pit stop times accumulated up to this point are included in this result, including any time penalties – because for each lap of the race completed, a certain minimum time is due for the next pit stop in each class.
Example: A GT3 car from the SP9 class that has just been in the pits would have to stop for 56 seconds after one lap during the race and 197 seconds after 8 laps. The differences caused by the different stint lengths at the time of the stoppage are included in the result, which can lead to a deviation from the order of crossing the finish line at the time of the stoppage.
24h race Nürburgring 2024: The highlights so far
- Rain in formation round messes up the field
- #34 Walkenhorst-Aston-Martin suffers early tyre damage
- Serious accident between Black Falcon BMW M4 GT4 and Sorg Porsche
- #24 Lionspeed Porsche collides with #130 GetSpeed Mercedes
- Max Kruse Racing’s Golf rolls over – driver okay
- #99 Rowe-BMW crashes while in the lead
- #510 Audi RS3 catches fire on the Nordschleife
- Second GetSpeed Mercedes out of action after crash
- Race stopped at 23:22 due to fog
- #16 Scherer-Sport-PHX-Audi leads at stoppage