Team Black Falcon celebrated three podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Dubai after a strong third position overall for the Black Falcon 2 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3, and second-place finishes for the #44 Porsche 997 Cup and #156 Porsche 991 Carrera in the 997 category and A5 category respectively.
The race got a off to a great start for Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcon 1 as Jeroen Bleekemolen stole first position from the pole-sitting #21 Chevrolet Corvette on the start/finish straight. Bleekmeloen’s swift start though was deemed a “jump start” and the driver was obliged to serve a 10-second stop and go penalty, which didn’t quite hamper the team as it retook the lead a couple of hours later.
However, a mechanical issue on the 10-hour mark required lengthy repairs for car #1; Black Falcon 1 thus lost the lead and tumbled down the order, it rejoined in 23rd position overall, but a reoccurrence of those problems the next morning forced the team to call it quits. Bernd Schneider, Andreas Simonsen, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi’s hard work came to an unfortunate end.
Black Falcon 2, on the other hand, was still in the race for glory; the #2 Mercedes – shared between Jeroen Bleekemolen, Khaled Al Qubaisi, Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal, Hubert Haupt and Adam Christodoulou – ran as high as P2 and it looked like a genuine victory contender, but a tyre puncture just four hours before the end of the race hurt it badly. The #2 SLS AMG GT3 rejoined in P3 following the necessary tyre change and maintained the position throughout the remainder of the race, eventually crossing the chequered flag after 597 laps of non-stop racing.
Team Black Falcon’s Porsche outfits, Black Falcon 3 and Black Falcon 4, added to the team’s Dubai 24 Hours success by finishing on the podium in their categories. Black Falcon 3’s #44 Porsche 997 Cup, competing in the 997 category, drove a consistent race to second in class and 14th overall, beating faster A6 category machinery. In a similar fashion, the #156 Porsche 991 Carrera celebrated second place in the A5 category and 27th overall.
Although a third consecutive triumph on the Dubai Autodrome slipped away this weekend, Team Black Falcon looks forward to returning to the track for more success next year. In the meantime, make sure you follow Team Black Falcon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates.