The No. 29 was deemed to have an unapproved refueling advantageThe GT Daytona class battle during the Rolex 24 was altered by a controversial race control decision that many have called the ‘nuclear option.’The Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 was leading at the time IMSA officials called it down pit road to serve a five-minute penalty that dropped it to a lap behind the leaders. The reason, according to team owner Christian Land, was that the team exceeded the minimum refueling time expected for the German entry.
As with any BoP decision, Land Motorsport cannot appeal the decision.
Land driver Jeffrey Schmidt served the penalty and returned shortly afterwards to hand the car over to Christopher Miles, but the damage had been done on the scoring pylon, with the car falling a lap off the pace.
Autoweek was provided the following statement.
“To measure refueling times, each entrants autonomous fuel tank is fitted with a mandated IMSA fuel level sensor and refueling restrictor, which are inspected and sealed prior to the race. During a standard, in-race data review, IMSA observed a consistent and beneficial variance of the No. 29 car’s refueling times compared to the GTD class average. Based upon IMSA’s current and past event refueling data, this was deemed to be unacceptable. The entrant was informed of IMSA’s position and a penalty was administered.”
The team never returned to the lead lap and suffered a tire failure within the final 20 minutes of the race.