Dubai; The Black Falcon Mercedes of Abdulaziz Al Faisal, Hubert Haupt, Yelmer Buurman and Oliver Webb defied the odds to claim a famous victory in the 10th edition of the the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai on Saturday.

Pole winners Fach Auto Tech Porsche team took an early lead but they were stalked by the Black Falcon team who remained at the sharp end of proceedings throughout the race. They began to stamp their authority on the race by claiming the lead on lap 22 and thereafter spent long stints at the front. By lap 276, they were in command and remained in the lead until lap 604 when the chequered flag waved to end the race at Dubai Autodrome.

Victory was particularly satisfying for Saudi Prince Al Faisal, who after nine attempts finally scored his first victory in the Dubai endurance race. “After nine years of trying to win this race at last I stood on the top step of the podium. A very sweet victory not only for me but the Black Falcon team and my teammates,” he said.

“Our team were strong all week long, maybe not the outright fastest but for sure the most consistent. We drove smart, kept out of trouble and because of this we won the race. It was tough with so many cars battling it out all day and night. Personally this victory ticks a very big box in my career.”

UAE-based Dragon Racing Ferrari gave the home fans a lot cheer about when they cossed the line third overall, and thus doing enough to claim top spot in the hotly contested A6-Amateur Class with Mohammed Jawa, Jordan Grogor, Matt Griffin and Rob Barff sharing the driving.

Team boss Leon Price said: “I am over the moon. The team was superb in all facets, the drivers delivered exactly what was expected of them. Despite a problem with the rear wheel which forced us to run the same tyre for four hours, there was no panic and we just stuck to the gameplan.”

“This is our second 24 hours win in two years at Dubai Autodrome, our home track and that has earned respect from our rivals which makes it extra special,” added Price.

There was, however, disappointment for the Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon Mercedes of Jeroen Bleekemolen, Bernd Schneider, Andreas Simonsen and local hero Khalid Al Qubaisi who took over the car for the third stint. He kept up the momentum in second place but bad luck struck on lap 88 when a slower car collided with the Mercedes.

In the pits the Black Falcon crew did everything possible to repair the Mercedes AMG SLS GT3, but the damage to the rear suspension and the chassis was too severe, thus the team decided to retire car number three.

Al Qubaisi explained: “I had an accident while overtaking. A car hit me on the right rear a couple of laps before our scheduled pitstop. Up until that point our times and performance was really great, the car showed winning potential, but this is motorsport, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”