Team Black Falcon is on the right track for a third consecutive Dubai 24 Hours victory after securing second and fourth positions during the final qualifying session this afternoon.
Qualifying was split into three sessions, the first of which got underway at 3:00 PM and included all racing categories; Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon’s #1 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 topped the timesheets with a 1:59.103 laptime, while the sister #2 Mercedes went 8 tenths slower and settled for P6.
Track action resumed in the third and final qualifying session at 05:00 PM (the second session was held for lower category cars). Jeroen Bleekemolen drove both SLS AMG cars, posting a 1:58.235 in the #2 SLS AMG, which was ultimately good for P4, before jumping in the lead Mercedes and clocking a 1:57.445, just 0.163 seconds shy of pole position.
Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon will share the front row with the pole-snatching Chevrolet Corvette C6.R of the V8 Racing team; the C6.R conforms with the more flexible GT1 regulations, rendering Team Black Falcon’s #1 Mercedes the fastest of the GT3-spec cars.
From the second row will start the Black Falcon #2 Mercedes, next to third-placed Fach Auto Tech 2’s #4 Porsche 997 GT3 R.
Bernd Schneider, Andreas Simonsen, Jeroen Bleekmolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi will participate on the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon #1 Mercedes in tomorrow’s race, while the latter two are also expected to share driving duties in the #2 Mercedes alongside Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal, Adam Christodoulou and Hubert Haupt.
Moreover, Team Black Falcon will be present in other racing categories with Black Falcon 3’s #44 Porsche 997 Cup and Black Falcon 4’s #156 Porsche 991 Carrera; the former team qualified second in the 997 class, with the latter fourth in the A5 class. Both outfits will be looking to secure victory in their respective categories.
Driving the #44 Porsche 997 Cup are Arturo Devigus (SUI), Anders Fjordbach (DEN), Willi Friedrichs (GER), Burkard Kaiser (GER) and Vladimir Lunkin (RUS). The #156 Porsche 991 Carrera will be shared between Gerwin Schuring (NED), Philip Dries (NED), Christian von Rieff (GER) and Helmut Weber (GER).
After qualifying, a two-hour night practice session took place for additional race preparations; Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon lead the way with Bleekemolen behind the wheel, as the #2 Mercedes eventually finished 12th. The two Black Falcon Porsches both set the second quickest times in their categories.
A half hour warm-up session will fire up Friday’s action, before the race inaugurates at 2:00 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 class winners.