Celebration mode was on for Team Black Falcon at the end of the Dubai 24 Hours when Black Falcon 2’s Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 driven by Khaled Al Qubaisi (UAE), Prince Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal (SAR), Hubert Haupt (GER), Adam Christodoulou (GB) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED) crossed the finish line in third place overall.
Black Falcon 2’s result came as a compensation for Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon’s many troubles during the race. A technical problem forced the leading car to pit twice. However, the car rejoined the race and quickly climbed its way up the order, but further technical issues appeared, forcing the team out of the race and killing their hopes of a third consecutive victory on the Dubai Autodrome.
It was up to the crew of the sister #2 car from there. Khaled Al Qubaisi, Jeroen Bleekemolen, Prince Abdulaziz Turki Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou pushed extremely hard to achieve the best possible result. The Black Falcon #2 was a front-running car over the entire race distance, with only a puncture near the end slightly hampering the team. Third place overall was the eventual reward for their hard work.
Team Manager SLS, Sean Paul Breslin, said: “Of course we are a little disappointed because without the technical problems we would have been able to win for the third time in a row. The team was strong and car fast but sometimes the nessesary portion of luck is missing. The more we are pleased that our second SLS could finish with a podium – a great result, which gives us a little bit of satisfaction. “
Alex Böhm, managing director for Team Black Falcon, echoed Breslin, saying: “It is clear that we wanted to win here again but that’s motorsport. But when I look at the results of our other car, I’m very pleased how competitive we were here again. “