You thought the Rolex 24 at Daytona was over after 24 hours and it was – for everybody except two teams in the GT Daytona Class – where the Audi R8 LMS of Flying Lizard Motorsports [consisting of Nelson Canache, Jr./Tim Pappas/Spencer Pumpelly/Markus Winkelhock] thought they had won when the team of 555 Level 5 Motorsport team in their Ferrari 458 Italia, won at the finish line but were penalized for a passing maneuver on the final lap. After three hours of celebration, race officials reversed that decision and awarded the GTD Class victory to the Ferrari, issuing this statement…
“A full post-race review of the incident on the last lap of the 52nd Rolex 24 at Daytona was completed by IMSA Supervisory Officials. The decision has been made to reverse the decision by the race director, rescind the penalty against the No. 555 Level 5 Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia team, and reinstate drivers Scott Tucker, Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal and Alessandro Pier Giuidi as the GT Daytona class winners. We regret the confusion following the race, and appreciate the patience by our fans, drivers, teams and the media so we could properly review and subsequently report this decision.”
The next race in the 2014 Tudor United Sportscar Championship series is 12 Hours at Sebring at the Sebring International Speedway in Sebring, Florida on March 15, 2014.