Team Black Falcon ended its 2014 motorsport campaign with a fantastic result in the Gulf 12 Hours, finishing second overall and taking the Pro-Am class victory in what was a high-octane race at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Sean-Paul Breslin, Black Falcon team principal: “It was a great race. So close all the way. Congratulations to all the drivers and our team for the great effort. Winning the Pro-Am was a fantastic achievement and the car proved again to be strong and reliable. It was another wonderful experience at the Yas Marina Circuit.”
The Black Falcon cars made a promising start to the weekend, with the Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon #1 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi qualifying third overall, and the Black Falcon #2 of Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal, Hubert Haupt and Richard Muscat just a spot behind in fourth.
However, qualifying meant little for the Black Falcon drivers who enjoyed a flying start to the race on Saturday morning, with Jeroen Bleekemolen in Black Falcon #1 moving past the pole-sitting McLaren 650S GT3 and the second-placed Ferrari 458 GT3 to take the lead by the first corner, while Richard Muscat in the sister Pro-Am Mercedes moved to P3.
The first half of the race saw the leading three cars constantly swapping positions as pit strategies differed. Eventually, Black Falcon #1 crossed the finish line in second place overall after 6 hours of racing, while Black Falcon #2 enjoyed an unchallenged run to fourth place overall and first place in the Pro-Am class.
After the race-splitting three-hour break, which is a unique feature of the Abu Dhabi event, the second part of the Gulf 12 Hours resumed under the floodlights, and it was yet another brilliant start as the #1 Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon snatched the lead, while the #2 Mercedes advanced to second place overall.
Black Falcon #2’s position was short-lived, however, as the chasing Pro-class Ferrari and McLaren got past, but the car’s lead in the Pro-Am was completely unrivaled with the team running 3 laps clear of its closest competitor.
In the Pro class, Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon looked set for a second consecutive win at the event after leading right up to nearly the 11-hour mark; but the AF Corse Ferrari managed to edge ahead during Black Falcon’s pit stop in the dying stages of the race.
In the end, Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon #1 had to settle with second place overall, just 3 seconds shy of victory, while Black Falcon #2 took a dominant victory in the Pro-AM class.
Team Black Falcon will now shift its focus on the 24 Hours of Dubai that will be held from January 8-10, 2015 at the Dubai Autodrome, and the target is, as ever, to win.