Amazing motorsport stories you could have missed in 2024

During Formula 1's record-breaking 24-race season, there was at all times the prospect that the odd gem of a story would emerge and had a brief shelf life before being sold out on a news show.

With one other successful 12 months for the World Endurance Championship, some twists and turns for the hybrid way forward for the World Rally Championship, and a MotoGP season that has featured infinite twists and turns within the title race, it's no surprise that some worthwhile stories are struggling about airtime.

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With many desirable stories which have only fleetingly captured the general public consciousness – if in any respect – to pick from, listed below are the Autosport picks you could have missed during an unrelenting racing 12 months.

Authors: Sam Hall, Stephen Lickorish, James Newbold and Gary Watkins

May 25 and June 9 – When DTM had to alter its schedule

Aitken was among the many beneficiaries of the rescheduling of the second DTM race in Zandvoort

Photo: ADAC Motorsport

Flexibility shouldn’t be a feature often related to championship organizers. However, ADAC has twice shown a willingness to combine up the schedule of its flagship DTM series in 2024, for which it deserves great credit.

A clash between the 24 Hours of Le Mans testing day and the DTM meeting at Zandvoort meant Sunday's second race was moved from its usual 1.30pm time slot to five.00pm local time, allowing a number of the biggest names within the championship to participate. Championship contenders Mirko Bortolotti and Kelvin van der Linde were joined within the round trip by Jack Aitken and the BMW trio of Marco Wittmann, Sheldon van der Linde and Rene Rast.

But what elevates this to my unheralded story of the 12 months is the explanation for the improved Lausitzring schedule. It's hardly ever that ice hockey makes Autosport headlines, however the timing of the World Championship semi-final within the Czech Republic seemed problematic for DTM.

This is since the semi-final was scheduled to be broadcast by DTM's German television partner, ProSieben, similtaneously Saturday's first race. This was also moved to a later date to make sure maximum eyeballs for the race, which began just before a heavy downpour disrupted work.

However, this allowed Maro Engel to stop early and take second place after a difficult opening lap – perhaps the one time the Mercedes ace might be supported by an ice hockey tournament… JN

June 15 – end of the Hyperpole Estre match

Estre's good final lap secured pole position at Le Mans, however it almost didn't occur

Photo: Marc Fleury

Arguably one of the best single lap of the World Endurance Championships almost didn't occur. It was not planned that Kevin Estre would once more race on the 13.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe at the top of the Hyperpole qualifying session on the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But he pressed on and the Frenchman accomplished a near-perfect lap to dramatically take pole position on the checkered flag.

There were only minutes left on the clock after a red flag briefly halted qualifying, after which Estre was caught in what he calls “massive traffic” on his first lap out of the pits. There was no time to alter tires throughout the pit stop, and after five fast laps on the Michelins, it was time to call it a day.

“My lap wasn't fast,” recalls Estre, who achieved a results of 3m25.793, good just for the fourth row. “I crossed the finish line and my engineer said, 'That's it, it's done.' But after Dunlop Chicane I asked if he thought I should proceed. He checked, then got here back: “Push, push, push.”

The reason for the hesitation was that the No. 6 Penske 963 LMDh was running out of fuel. Refueling shouldn’t be allowed throughout the Hyperpole and Estre accomplished the laps planned within the Porsche Penske Motorsport itinerary.

“Until I got to Porsche Curves, I wasn't sure if I had enough energy for a lap,” Estre recalls. “And even then, after setting the time, I had to go back to the battery pits from Arnage.”

This was critical. If he had not made it home, under the foundations his time would have been forfeited and the Cadillac would have taken pole position. G.W

September 21-22 – Thompson's extraordinary determination

Thompson assisted his rival in ensuring enough cars began at Thruxton to make the race eligible for points

Photo: Steve Jones

Some of one of the best, most unusual and most entertaining stories in motorsports come from the domestic racing world. Every 12 months we hear about dozens of extraordinary performances and unexpected stars from across club motorsport. And one that may stick within the memory from this season is that of the pre-1966 Classic Touring Car Racing Club champion, Ian Thompson.

The phrase “pushing the envelope” is overused, but as our reporter Mark Paulson discovered, Thompson really went the additional mile to secure the title at Thruxton.

He arrived in Hampshire with a shot at glory, and with pre-event points leader Luc Wilson forced to withdraw through illness, Thompson needed just two class wins to seal the deal.

However, the CTCRC only awards full points if there are at the very least three starters in the category, and the sight of Lotus Cortina teammate Keith Wright leaving the paddock on a trailer after a clutch failure caught Thompson's attention.

Thompson recalled: “I ran after him, 'Where are you going? You can't go home! Take the car off the trailer and we'll fix it.”

After installing a spare Thompson clutch, Wright was in a position to join the sphere. “We finished with five minutes to go,” added Thompson, who won the category twice to seal the spoils.

Let's add that this was Thompson's first full racing season since he broke his spine in a crash at Caterham in 2015. This makes his achievements much more remarkable. SL

December 8 – F2 hero's neglected victory

Durksen's victory in Abu Dhabi meant he equaled fellow FRECA graduate Antonelli's victory in 2024.

Photo: James Sutton / Motorsport Images

Joshua Durksen is a reputation that didn’t attract much interest before the Formula 2 season at AIX. By making the identical leap as FRECA's Andrea Kimi Antonelli, perhaps the media circus surrounding the long run Mercedes driver has left too little room for the highlight to succeed in further.

The Paraguayan first caught the attention at Imola when he scored his first podium – and first points – after an outstanding run to 3rd place within the feature race. This meant that he actually beat Antonelli and stood on the rostrum…

Durksen was on the rostrum again at Monza and took his first victory within the Baku sprint, but his highlight of the season was winning the feature race in Abu Dhabi.

With the concentrate on Gabriel Bortoleto's coronation as champion, the 21-year-old once more became a forgotten man. He pitted early after starting eighth and undercut ahead of the battle between Victor Martins and championship-chasing Bortoleto.

Although it was Formula E-bound Taylor Barnard who took the team's first victory on the brand new 2024 Dallara F2 chassis in Monaco, Durksen had established himself because the primary driver in AIX and his brilliance in Abu Dhabi earned him tenth place within the standings and deserved more attention .

Of course, Bortoleto's championship victory over Isaac Hadjar stole the headlines, but heading into the 2025 season, expect Durksen to occupy far more of the column space when he returns to AIX. Shhh

Will Durksen be one to look at next 12 months in F2?

Photo: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images