The team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon with drivers Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Thomas Jäger has won the seventh running of the 24h Race at Dubai after having clearly dominated the very strong competition. Black Falcon managed to complete 628 laps (3,385 km) and thus established a new record distance. This was the first 24h victory for the Mercedes SLS AMG GT 3, only one year after it made its 24h debut in the desert of Dubai.
The second race car entered by Black Falcon, the BMW M3 GT4 driven by Christian von Rieff, Christian Raubach, Steve Jans, Manuel Metzger and Michael Pflüger, also finished into an excellent 18th place overall and in second place in the very competitive class SP3.
This year’s edition of the 24h Race in the Arabic Emirate of Dubai was a motorsport thriller at its best. Right from the race start, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Black Falcon was able to go the pace of the top teams and to move from position 15 on the starting grid up into the top of the field already during the first hour of the race. In the further running of the race, the SLS team however lost their first place again as they were too far away from the pit lane access at the beginning of a code 60 phase and they were thus not able to make full use of the advantage in time. The other competitors on their part took advantage of the situation and moved ahead of the Black Falcon SLS. Due to several tactical decisions both by the team and the drivers during the following hours, the team of Black Falcon was able to turn the tide again in favour of Black Falcon.
After an excellent performance of Thomas Jäger, Sean Edwards was thus able to go back into the lead before midnight and it was only due to the different pit stop strategies that they lost the lead temporarily during the following hours.
In the further running of the race, Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Thomas Jäger managed to extend their lead gradually. A brilliant racing strategy prepared by the team management, excellent pit stops and the constant and quick performances of all drivers – the combination of all these factors, along with the high reliability of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, resulted in the fantastic first overall win of the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon in Dubai after 24 hours race time.
Khaled Al Qubaisi: “It is a fantastic feeling to have won the 24h Race at Dubai. It was a tough competition with close fights and the competitors were extremely strong. The race was hence extremely exhausting for the whole team. Everybody has nevertheless done a brilliant job and it was in particular the strategy of Black Falcon which was so excellent. I really enjoyed driving the last race laps and it was a fantastic feeling to take the chequered flag as winner of the race.”
The Black Falcon team had good reason to celebrate another success in addition to the overall win of the SLS. The crew in the BMW M3GT3 made up of Christian von Rieff, Christian Raubach, Manuel Metzger, Steve Jans and Michael Pflüger, too, showed an excellent performance and, starting from position 44 on the grid, finished into a fantastic second class position and even into the top twenty overall, ahead of many much more powerful race cars.
The BMW drivers had to come to an unscheduled pit stop at quite an early stage in the race. Despite the careful preparation of the race car, a brand new gearbox oil pump had failed. The team with their BMW M3 lost about 20 minutes due to the necessary replacement of the component.
All the drivers nevertheless kept cool despite the hot temperatures at the Dubai Autodrome. They gained back position by position, backed by a perfect work of the pit crew. No further failure had to be reported for the BMW M3 GT4, even a stop-and-go penalty in the early morning hours could not stop the crew in car number 23 in moving ahead. So after a hard competition and close fights the whole team finally happily celebrated a really well deserved 18th place overall and second place in their class.
Manuel Metzger: “We are very happy about the result here in Dubai even though we are aware that there was still some reserve. After we had lost 20 minutes early in the race due to the damaged gearbox oil pump, the whole team pulled itself together again. We were determined to catch up again and were fully motivated to show top performances in order to achieve our goal. I wish to take the opportunity and thank the Team Black Falcon and in particular also my team mates. The mood in the team was excellent all times and it was really great fun to drive at this demanding circuit.”
Alexander Böhm: “With the victory at the Dubai 24h Race, Black Falcon has achieved another ambitious goal. We have been able to withstand the pressure applied by many very strong competitors who were supported by works drivers and we have shown an impressive team performance here. The privateers and youngsters in the M3, too, have done a brilliant job. After this very successful start of the season, I am looking forward to its continuation and to new challenges to master. A special thank you to all team members who have been working brilliantly here under quite difficult conditions.”
With the 12h Race in Bathurst Australia, the next highlight lies ahead of the Black Falcon team on 26th February 2012.
