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Dacia Logan at the Nurburgring

Dacia promoted in official Nurburgring 24 Hours results after dramatic finish in Germany

Dacia Logan at the Nurburgring — Photo: © IMAGO

Dacia promoted in official Nurburgring 24 Hours results after dramatic finish in Germany

The Dacia did it!

Graham Shaw
Consultant Editor
Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

After Max Verstappen, it was the second biggest story of the weekend at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, but unlike the F1 superstar it had a happy ending.

After an incredible journey which saw the unlikeliest of challengers become a global phenomenon on social media, the No. 300 car DID finish the famous race. And not only that, it was promoted 13 places in the final classification.

When the clock ran out on a spectacular weekend of action on the Nordschleife, the Dacia - named 'Bock Norris' by its Ollis Garage Racing team - appeared to be in P120 of the 159 cars to start the race.

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Dacia promoted to P107 in final standings

But per Vincent Bruins of GPFans Netherlands, 13 cars which registered more laps than 'Bock' failed to cross the finish line, meaning a move up to a final P107 in the final classification.

It was the perfect climax to an amazing weekend for the little car and the team, who became world-famous overnight. Just finishing the race was an incredible feat after mechanics had worked against the clock to get the car back on track following gearbox and suspension issues, and losing a wheel.

At one point the car had to be towed back to the garage for repair work, and also had to contend with a speeding penalty from the Nurburgring stewards!

It was the wildest of rides for drivers Oliver Kriese (the founder of Ollis Garage Racing), Alexander Becker, Christian Geilfus and Robert Neumann.

Verstappen's Mercedes follows the Dacia at the Nurburgring.
Verstappen's Mercedes follows the Dacia at the Nurburgring.

The moment the Dacia crossed the finish line

After the race was over, Ollis Garage Racing released a stunning video of the moment their Dacia crossed the finish line, to massive cheers from the record crowd at the Nurburgring.

Team reacts to Dacia's new-found fame

The team also released a message to their new army of fans, telling them: "What a freaking insane ride! ?? We finally made it and crossed the finish line with Bock Norris! ?

"Honestly… what an incredible crew we have! Every single person pushed beyond their limits for this very moment. You can’t even imagine how happy and proud we are right now! ❤️

"Proud of the best team ever. Nobody slept, everyone was ready at every second. That’s what family is all about! ?

"A huge thank you ? to our crew – you are simply the best! We love you! This video is for you… your applause for all the incredible hard work! ?❤️

"And to all our amazing fans…Thank you for your massive support! Without you, we would have given up a long time ago. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ??

Five years later, a viral phenomenon

The Dacia Logan has been competing in the 24h Nürburgring since 2021 and even before this year the SP 3T class competitor had become incredibly popular among fans, mainly because it looks like a goofy, sluggish grocery getter.

The Dacia, however, is anything but popular among some drivers in the fastest SP 9 class, due to the large speed difference compared to GT3 cars.

In the middle of the night during the 2023 race, Laurin Heinrich crashed his Porsche into the Dacia at full speed when Maximilian Weissermel was behind the wheel.

Last year, it was Martin Kaffka who crashed together with Aris Balanian's GT4 Aston Martin.

READ MORE: Aston Martin set for performance 'quantum leap' at Canadian GP

Graham Shaw
Written by
Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor
Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.
View full biography

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