Ferrari 12th in 24 Hours of Nürburgring

Ferrari finished 12th in the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, which featured a red flag after seven and a half hours of racing due to fog. The race never resumed and was declared over after five safety car laps at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Frikadelli Racing Team’s 296 GT3 remained among the leaders during green flag conditions before slipping back due to a stop during the last five laps.

The traditional German endurance event featured 130 cars in 23 classes, with 240,000 spectators in attendance over the weekend. It concluded with a new negative record for the number of laps completed in the race—just 50, beating the 59 of the 2021 edition. Interestingly, just 12 months ago, Frikadelli’s Ferrari, which had dominated with a perfect race, had set the record for the number of laps completed, an impressive 162. 

The number 1 Ferrari started from sixth with Daniel Keilwitz, who performed well in the initial wet track conditions. The first hours of the race were marked by very changeable weather, including intermittent rain. The 296 GT3 stayed in the upper reaches of the standings thanks to the prudent approach of its drivers, Keilwitz, Luca Ludwig, Nicolas Varrone, and Felipe Fernandez Laser. At that point, at 11.30 p.m. on Saturday, the red flag was shown due to fog that had descended on the circuit, reducing visibility to almost zero. At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the cars restarted, with the Ferrari in sixth position, to complete five laps behind the safety car to check whether the conditions were safe enough to finish the race. Race Direction did not see fit to show the green flag, so the final result was declared shortly after 3 p.m. The Frikadelli Racing car, having to make its last pit stop under the safety car, came twelfth overall and in the SP9 class, open to GT3 cars.

This year, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring joined the Intercontinental GT Challenge for the first time. In addition to the 12 Hours of Bathurst in February, the championship includes the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 29-30 June and the 8 Hours of Indianapolis on 6 October.