P1racenews AI automatic summary:
IMSA admits to “officiating error” in premature Daytona 24 Hours chequered flag
The race at Daytona International Speedway was intense, with a close battle for victory between Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport and Tom Blomqvist in the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R for Action Express Racing. However, confusion arose when the white flag, indicating the final lap, was mistakenly shown with three minutes still remaining in the 24-hour race. It was initially shown to the GTD class leader, who crossed the finish line at 24h00m03.261s, the time that the overall winner should have recorded. Despite the NBC TV ticker displaying two laps remaining, Nasr was given the checkered flag as the GTP leader had already passed the line. Nasr’s winning margin over Blomqvist was 2.112 seconds. The race was subsequently ended due to the officiating error, as stated by IMSA, according to Article 49 of the 2024 Sporting Regulations and Supplementary Regulations. Nasr’s strategist, Tim Cindric, advised him to keep pushing until they were certain the race was over. Nasr admitted feeling confused but followed Cindric’s instructions.
