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GT Racing
GT: Black Falcon Leads Mercedes 1-2-3 In Dubai 24
Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards, Thomas Jager and Khaled Al Qubaisi win Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai...
Abu Dhabi Black Falcon led a Mercedes 1-2-3 in the German manufacturers' first major endurance race victory for the SLS AMG GT3. (Photo: John Dagys)
While the seventh annual Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai saw a fierce three-way fight for the lead early on, a flawless run for Abu Dhabi Black Falcon was rewarded with a dominant win in the Middle East’s premier sports car race.
Khaled Al Qubaisi peddled his No. 3 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 to a two-lap victory over the No. 6 Heico Motorsport machine of DTM legend Bernd Schneider, leading a 1-2-3 sweep of the overall podium for the gull-winged beasts.
For Al Qubaisi and co-drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Thomas Jager, who pulled most of the weight after the UAE resident came down with food poisoning, the race came to them thanks to a strategic fuel-saving run, as well as the contending Heico Mercedes and No. 1 Saudi Falcon by Schubert BMW both having setbacks.
With the twice-around-the-clock enduro being run to a unique set of Balance of Performance rules, where cars were not allowed to exceed a minimum reference lap time, strategy played a key role from the onset, as the American Le Mans Series star and two-time Porsche Supercup champion explained.
“We couldn't really win or lose a lot on track because we had the [reference] lap,” Bleekemolen said. “Maybe one guy could gain 10 or 20 seconds in his stint, but it wasn't going to be huge. So we instead started saving fuel very early on.
“Sean and I were able to go 10 minutes longer [on fuel] than anyone else in the Mercedes. So we were basically short shifting and backing off on the throttle very early on the straight and and slowly going onto the brakes. I think that saved us a lot.”
The Black Falcon squad achieved a new distance record along the way, completing more than 2,100 miles in a trouble-free race, other than a single brake pad change and a 40-second stop-and-hold penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
“It was the toughest 24-hour race of my life because with the rules and regulations and penalties here, it was mentally very tough,” Edwards said. “As a race driver, you aim to go flat out, but here you can't.
“You have to stick to a time and play it right and save fuel and don't make any mistakes. At the end of the day, we made the right call with strategy and we played it very well with the fuel. We gained time in the pits, and that's where we really won the race.”
Reliability woes for Black Falcon’s two main contenders also played a factor. Defending race winners Saudi Falcons by Schubert hit trouble in the 20th hour when BMW factory driver Jorg Muller pitted with debris lodged in the Z4 GT3’s throttle mechanism.
Repair work dropped the German squad four laps behind to fourth, despite a valiant late charge by Edward Sandstrom, who nearly nipped third away from the No. 16 Heico Mercedes of Andreas Simonsen, but spun on the final corner while in pursuit on the final lap.
Heico’s No. 6 Mercedes enjoyed time out front early on but a sticking throttle and a two-minute and 20-second penalty for exceeding the race’s “Code 60” speed limit during full-course cautions relegated Schneider and co-drivers Andreas Zuber, Max Nilsson, Christiaan Frankenhout and Max Buhk to a runner-up finish.
The No. 18 Fach Auto Tech Porsche 997 GT3-R, led by former factory driver Martin Ragginger, completed the top-five overall, 13 laps behind the race-winning Mercedes.
American favorites United Autosports battled intermittent electrical issues with both of its Audi R8 LMS cars but managed to finish 19th and 29th overall, after countless trips to the garage for repairs, which included a gearbox change on the No. 36 entry of Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow and suspension repairs on the No. 26 car.
ALMS and GRAND-AM regular Shane Lewis, who made his Dubai debut, finished fifth in the SP3 class with fellow American Vic Rice aboard their Hamburg Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage N24 GT4.
Other class winners include Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G50 (SP3), Las Moras Racing Team Renault Megane Trophy (SP2) and the Besaplast Racing Team MINI Cooper (A2).
Of note, Nissan’s all-gamer lineup up GT Academy winners Lucas Ordonez, Jordan Tresson, Jann Mardenborough and American Bryan Heikotter took their RJN Motorsport-run Nissan 370Z to a third place finish in the SP3 category.
RESULTS: Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai
PHOTOS: Dubai 24
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Khaled Al Qubaisi peddled his No. 3 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 to a two-lap victory over the No. 6 Heico Motorsport machine of DTM legend Bernd Schneider, leading a 1-2-3 sweep of the overall podium for the gull-winged beasts.
For Al Qubaisi and co-drivers Jeroen Bleekemolen, Sean Edwards and Thomas Jager, who pulled most of the weight after the UAE resident came down with food poisoning, the race came to them thanks to a strategic fuel-saving run, as well as the contending Heico Mercedes and No. 1 Saudi Falcon by Schubert BMW both having setbacks.
With the twice-around-the-clock enduro being run to a unique set of Balance of Performance rules, where cars were not allowed to exceed a minimum reference lap time, strategy played a key role from the onset, as the American Le Mans Series star and two-time Porsche Supercup champion explained.
“We couldn't really win or lose a lot on track because we had the [reference] lap,” Bleekemolen said. “Maybe one guy could gain 10 or 20 seconds in his stint, but it wasn't going to be huge. So we instead started saving fuel very early on.
“Sean and I were able to go 10 minutes longer [on fuel] than anyone else in the Mercedes. So we were basically short shifting and backing off on the throttle very early on the straight and and slowly going onto the brakes. I think that saved us a lot.”
The Black Falcon squad achieved a new distance record along the way, completing more than 2,100 miles in a trouble-free race, other than a single brake pad change and a 40-second stop-and-hold penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
“It was the toughest 24-hour race of my life because with the rules and regulations and penalties here, it was mentally very tough,” Edwards said. “As a race driver, you aim to go flat out, but here you can't.
“You have to stick to a time and play it right and save fuel and don't make any mistakes. At the end of the day, we made the right call with strategy and we played it very well with the fuel. We gained time in the pits, and that's where we really won the race.”
Reliability woes for Black Falcon’s two main contenders also played a factor. Defending race winners Saudi Falcons by Schubert hit trouble in the 20th hour when BMW factory driver Jorg Muller pitted with debris lodged in the Z4 GT3’s throttle mechanism.
Repair work dropped the German squad four laps behind to fourth, despite a valiant late charge by Edward Sandstrom, who nearly nipped third away from the No. 16 Heico Mercedes of Andreas Simonsen, but spun on the final corner while in pursuit on the final lap.
Heico’s No. 6 Mercedes enjoyed time out front early on but a sticking throttle and a two-minute and 20-second penalty for exceeding the race’s “Code 60” speed limit during full-course cautions relegated Schneider and co-drivers Andreas Zuber, Max Nilsson, Christiaan Frankenhout and Max Buhk to a runner-up finish.
The No. 18 Fach Auto Tech Porsche 997 GT3-R, led by former factory driver Martin Ragginger, completed the top-five overall, 13 laps behind the race-winning Mercedes.
American favorites United Autosports battled intermittent electrical issues with both of its Audi R8 LMS cars but managed to finish 19th and 29th overall, after countless trips to the garage for repairs, which included a gearbox change on the No. 36 entry of Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow and suspension repairs on the No. 26 car.
ALMS and GRAND-AM regular Shane Lewis, who made his Dubai debut, finished fifth in the SP3 class with fellow American Vic Rice aboard their Hamburg Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage N24 GT4.
Other class winners include Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G50 (SP3), Las Moras Racing Team Renault Megane Trophy (SP2) and the Besaplast Racing Team MINI Cooper (A2).
Of note, Nissan’s all-gamer lineup up GT Academy winners Lucas Ordonez, Jordan Tresson, Jann Mardenborough and American Bryan Heikotter took their RJN Motorsport-run Nissan 370Z to a third place finish in the SP3 category.
RESULTS: Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai
PHOTOS: Dubai 24
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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