Both BMW and Ferrari have been docked all IMSA manufacturer points and fined $25,000 after their GTD Pro and GTD cars were found to be in violation of their permitted performance levels at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.
The statements in the two penalty bulletins issued this evening are identical and read:
“The IMSA Technical Committee and the IMSA Supervisory Officials have unanimously determined that BMW and Ferrari demonstrated performance in the Daytona 24 Hour Race exceeded IMSA’s expectations as shared in the GT Manufacturers Technical Working Groups. The goal was to ensure the Demonstrated Performance of the best example of each Manufacturer’s Car Model would be within a targeted performance window – allowing for competitive equivalency.”
Crucially, only the manufacturers have been punished for this offence, not the teams or drivers. The final result of the Rolex 24 remains unchanged, with all Ferrari and BMW customer teams retaining their points from the race. This includes Risi Competitzione’s GTD Pro class win with its 296 GT3.
The highest-placed BMW meanwhile was Paul Miller Racing’s M4 GT3, which finished third in GTD Pro. Behind Risi in the results, 296 GT3s finished second (AF Corse), third (Conquest Racing) and fourth (Triarsi Competizione) in GTD.
In addition to the fines, Ferrari has had 300 GTD Pro and 250 GTD points for WeatherTech Manufacturers Championship taken away, while BMW lost 350 and 320 respectively. In the Michelin Endurance Cup standings, Ferrari has lost 15 GTD Pro points and nine in GTD, while BMW has been docked 15 and 14.
The 2024 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona was the first event under IMSA’s new GTD Balance of Performance process, a key principle of which was that the manufacturers themselves had to declare their expected performance parameters.
Decisions of IMSA regarding BoP cannot be protested or appealed.
Images courtesy of IMSA
