IMSA: “Officiating Error” Led to Early Rolex 24 Checkered Flag

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

An “officiating error” led to an early checkered flag on last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, according to a statement from the sanctioning body.

Released on Monday afternoon, IMSA clarified the reason for the checkered flag coming out 1 minute and 35 seconds prior to the 24-hour mark in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

There was initial confusion on the reason why race control called the white flag with just less than three minutes to go, which has since turned out to be in error.

The twice-around-the-clock endurance classic started at 1:42 p.m. ET on Saturday, which was technically two minutes later than originally scheduled, which is believed to have factored into the confusion.

“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,” the statement read.

“At the end of the lap, the race-leading No. 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.”

The race results, however, stand as-is due to a rule that allows the race to finish even before the scheduled time has been elapsed in the event of the checkered flag being displayed.

The statement continues: “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 No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and Josef Newgarden won the race, claiming the German manufacturer’s 19th overall victory in the Rolex 24.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John