Sébastien Bourdais loses his victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona

IMSA has heavily penalized the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca of Sébastien Bourdais, who loses his victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Published 30/01/2025 à 09:33

Valentin GLO

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Sébastien Bourdais loses his victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona

© 2025 Brandon Badraoui

Sébastien Bourdais and Tower Motorsports are no longer the winners of the 24 2025 Hours of Daytona in the LM P2 class. On Wednesday night, theIMSA announced a heavy penalty against the American team for a technical infringement. Indeed, post-race inspections revealed excessive wear of the protection block under the car, exceeding the permitted limit by five millimeters. The penalty imposed is a direct relegation to last position in its class. The victory therefore goes to the n°22 of United Autosports co-driven in Florida by Paul di Resta, Daniel Goldburg, Rasmus Lindh and James Allen.

« Car racing can be cruel, but the governing bodies can be much worse, reacted Sébastien Bourdais. Tower Motorsports won the LM P2 class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The third rear shock absorber that controls the ride height failed, causing excessive wear on the rear skid. IMSA has always used common sense in enforcing the rules in recent memory, which was broken by a technical failure, unfortunately not today. I want to thank everyone on the team for their flawless execution and dedication. It makes me sick to think of them as cheaters, because they always follow the rules. I really hope we have a chance to win more races in the future! Thank you all for your support. »

« I have no words, his teammate Job van Uitert also said. A failure on one element meant our board was carrying too much. It’s so brutal. Especially for everyone involved in this team, who made us all so proud. I will remember this win as our win. We won on the track, without any advantage. As my teammate Seb says, this decision was far from common sense. I keep my head up and we’re coming back. Thanks to everyone for your support.”

Tower Motorsports appealed the decision, but it was rejected by IMSA.

The official IMSA document can be found HERE

The new ranking of the 24 Hours of Daytona can be found HERE

ALSO READ > 24 Hours of Daytona – Sébastien Bourdais: “It was like in ‘Days of Thunder’”

Valentin GLO

Journalist. Endurance reporter (WEC, IMSA, ELMS, ALMS) and sometimes F1 or IndyCar.

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1 Comment (s)

A

Arnaud

30/01/2025 at 03:21 a.m.

What a shame! And why 72 hours later???? What a lack of respect for the risks taken by the pilots for 24 hours... Go for it Seb!

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