Team Black Falcon is relying on a very strong line-up of drivers to further stretch its winning streak and ensure a third consecutive victory at the Dubai 24 Hours on the Dubai Autodrome this weekend.
Spearheading the Abu Dhabi Racing by Black Falcon #1 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 is DTM legend Bernd Schneider; the German has enjoyed several career successes, including five titles with Mercedes in the DTM Championship, an FIA GT Championship title (also with Mercedes) and a 24 Hours of Nurburgring victory last year.
UAE’s Khaled Al Qubaisi, who has a busy schedule this weekend with driving duties in both Black Falcon Mercedes cars, will join Schneider in the #1 car. The Emirati has already won the Dubai 24H in 2012 and 2013 and is looking for a third consecutive victory on his home circuit.
Also sharing the Black Falcon #1 Mercedes are Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED) and Andreas Simonsen (SWE). The former has two Porsche Supercup titles, a 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 class triumph and two A1 Grand Prix victories to his name; he also won the Nurburgring 24 Hour race with Schneider last year. Bleekemolen, like Al Qubaisi, will race in both Black Falcon cars. Simonsen, on the other hand, still has a long career ahead of him; the 24-year-old won the 2013 FIA GT Series Pro-Am drivers’ title and helped the HTP Gravity Charouz Mercedes team clinch the Pro-Am Cup for teams.
Five drivers will share the Black Falcon #2 SLS AMG GT3. Other than Bleekemolen and Al Qubaisi, there is Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East double champion Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal. The Red Bull athlete has had several successful outings in the ADAC GT Masters, and completed the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013. He is also very experienced in the 24H of Dubai race but has not won it yet. Now, he’s embarking on a new, hopefully fruitful, journey with Team Black Falcon.
One of the other experienced drivers drafted into the team is Hubert Haupt. The 44-year-old has been behind the wheel of a racecar since 1990. He has competed in DTM, FIA GT Championship, GrandAM, ALMS, Porsche Supercup and several endurance races, which makes him a great candidate for victory.
The fifth and final seat in the #2 SLS AMG GT3, will be occupied by British racing driver Adam Christodoulou. The young talent clinched the British Formula Renault Championship in 2008 and Star Mazda Championship a year later. He moved to GT racing in 2012 and won the 24 Hours of Barcelona that year. After two promising races with Team Black Falcon in Spa 24H and Gulf 12H last year, Christodoulou will once again race for the team this weekend.
The Dubai 24 Hour action kicks off on Wednesday, January 8th with optional private testing, which should help the front-running teams brush off potential impediments. The Dubai Autodrome will be host to three free practice sessions on Thursday, January 9th, the first of which gets underway at 11:30 AM. Three qualifying sessions are also scheduled on Thursday, with the earliest session starting at 03:00 PM.
A half hour warm-up session will kick-start Friday’s proceedings, before the race starts at 02:00 PM. Teams and drivers will cross the Dubai Autodrome finish line 24 hours later at 02:00 PM on Saturday; this will be followed by a podium ceremony for all categories.