IMSA has released a statement this afternoon concerning the confusion at the end of yesterday’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, which saw the final lap called earlier than expected.
“Due to an officiating error in race control, IMSA inadvertently announced and subsequently displayed the white flag with under three minutes remaining in the race. At the end of the lap, the race-leading #7 GTP car then received the checkered flag with 1 minute, 35.277 seconds still remaining, ending the race short of the planned 24 hours by effectively one lap,” it reads.
“Based on Article 49 of the 2024 IMSA Sporting Regulations and Standard Supplementary Regulations, should the checkered flag be inadvertently or otherwise displayed before the leading car completes the scheduled number of laps or before the prescribed time has been completed, the race is nevertheless deemed ended when the flag is displayed.”
The checkered flag was shown amid a battle for the overall race lead between the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 and Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, with members of both teams revealing after the race that they were not sure whether or not the race had officially ended when the checkered flag was waved.
“You’ve got to keep on the throttle until it’s over, that’s what Tim Cindric said on the radio,” said Felipe Nasr, who was in the winning Porsche at the end. “I was confused, too.
“I don’t know if there were two white flags. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I was just focused on each corner, each braking and just clearing traffic and making sure there were no mistakes and get the car to the end.”
