The shortest 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in the history of the Eifel classic since 1970, with only 50 laps, could have a lengthy aftermath. The Rowe Racing team has announced that it will appeal against a protest that was rejected after the end of the race.
The BMW customer team has 96 hours from the announcement to formulate the protest in writing. If this is done by Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 6:15 p.m. at the latest, the complex case will end up before the DMSB Court of Appeal in Frankfurt. Until the matter is finally clarified, the result of the 52nd edition of the 24-hour race with the victory of the #16 Scherer-Audi remains provisional.
Rowe Racing argues: Race not ended correctly
Rowe Racing, which was classified in seventh place in the provisional result with its #98 BMW M4 GT3 (Marciello/Martin/Wittmann/Farfus), apparently thinks it has a chance of a subsequent overall victory at the ‘Green Table’.
“From our point of view, the race was not ended correctly,” argued Rowe team boss Hans-Peter Naundorf on Sunday. He referred to the FIA’s International Sports Code – the International Sports Code, which sets out the framework conditions for motorsport -, to the circuit regulations of the German Motorsport Association (DMSB) and to the invitation to tender issued by the organizer ADAC Nordrhein. “The race should not have been waved off with a checkered flag. That is why we are trying to enforce our right, which the Sports Code allows.”
24-hour race Nürburgring: interrupted or finished?
In its letter of protest against the interpretation of the result, Rowe Racing stated that the race was “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 procedures and the classification. More on this later. The sports stewards on site, however, ruled that this terminology was incorrect. Instead, the race was “ended” at that time.
The stewards referred to Article 22 of the DMSB circuit regulations, which states, among other things: “If the checkered flag is waved prematurely, this point in time is decisive for the classification.”
Stewards’ verdict: No disadvantage for Rowe-BMW?
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 chequered flag is considered an error or not, the order of passing at that point is decisive.” Therefore, Rowe Racing’s protest was unfounded.
Rowe Racing, on the other hand, felt disadvantaged by the way things went. Team boss Naundorf referred to the complicated issue of stints and pit stops, which he believed played a major role: “We developed a strategy that we believe was the right one and with which we would have won the race if we had followed all the rules.”
What role did the late pit stops play?
At this point, it was not officially known whether the race would continue. In a previously sent message from the race management, it was stated that the race would resume at 1:30 p.m. behind the safety car, and: “The remaining race time is at least five laps.” Depending on the weather conditions, the safety car would drive into the pits and the race would continue under the green flag. There was no written information on the exact procedure in the event of a premature end to the race.
As is well known, there was no restart under green flags: the race was waved off with a checkered flag after five formation laps behind the leading car due to persistent fog. The message appeared at 2:49 p.m.: “No restart! Safety car coming in on this lap. Overtaking is not allowed.”
Explained: Different starting order than at the time of interruption
Checkered or red? Now it gets complicated, because there was an interruption with red flags on Saturday night at 11:22 p.m. due to the weather conditions. This meant that the starting order of the cars for the five formation laps on Sunday afternoon after a 14-hour forced break was slightly different than at the time of the interruption. For example, the #911 Manthey Porsche took second place at the restart, although it had actually been in third place beforehand.
The organizer explained this basic rule in a press release on Saturday as follows: “The order is based on the status of the race on the lap in which the respective class leader crossed the finish line for the second-to-last time before the red flag. The minimum pit stop times accumulated at this time, including any time penalties, are included in this result – because for each race lap driven, a certain minimum time is due for the next pit stop completed in the individual classes.”
As an example, it was added: “An SP9 car that had just been in the pits would have to stop for 56 seconds after one lap (1; ed.) and 197 seconds after 8 laps during the race. The differences caused in this way 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.”
A highly complex regulatory matter and difficult for outsiders to understand, but one that Rowe Racing is now apparently referring to. If the case actually goes to the DMSB Court of Appeal and the BMW customer team wins, the final result of the Nürburgring 24-hour race could be turned on its head.