Class victory and podium for BLACK FALCON at the ADAC RAVENOL 24h race Nürburgring

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Results

BLACK FALCON entered this year's 24-hour race at the Nürburgring with four vehicles and 16 drivers from eight nations. Everyone involved had spent months preparing intensively for the eagerly awaited highlight of the year in the Eifel. But this year, the "Green Hell" once again proved that it rightly bears its name:
After more than seven hours of changing track conditions, heavy fog led to the race organisers' decision to red flag the race. It was not until 1.30 p.m. on Sunday that the field was restarted for five formation laps behind the safety car. However, the recurring fog banks made a restart impossible, so the race was officially stopped at around 15:00.

BLACK FALCON wins the CUP2 class
The Porsche 992 GT3 CUP #103 with drivers Mehmet Kaya, Gabriele Piana, Tim Scheerbarth and Mike Stursberg started the race from fourth on the grid in the extremely strong Cup 2 class after a flawless qualifying session. After an early tyre change from slick to wet tyres, starting driver Piana was able to prevail against the strong competition in the initial phase. Subsequently, an outstanding driving performance by Scheerbarth, Kaya and Stursberg in combination with a good strategy by the pit crew ensured that the #103 was able to pull away from the competition in the class by more than four minutes despite changing conditions until the race was stopped. Although the lead was equalised by the red flag, the team was also well prepared for a possible restart. Ultimately, the flawless team performance and the combination of speed and experience of all four drivers in car number 103 were decisive for the success.

Podium spot for the BILSTEIN by BLACK FALCON team
Team BILSTEIN by BLACK FALCON competed in the Nürburgring 24-hour race for the first time this year. After weeks of preparation, the prominent line-up with YouTube icons Jimmy Broadbent, Steve Brown and Misha Charoudin as well as Nürburgring pro Manuel Metzger showed an outstanding performance in qualifying and secured pole position in the SP8T class with the BMW M4 GT4 #150.  Unfortunately, Brown overlooked a flag signal on his first night lap in qualifying and entered a Code 60 zone at a very high speed. Race control penalised the mistake with a 90-second time penalty for the car and a disqualification for Brown, which meant he was unable to take part in the race.
During the race, the team reduced the initial 90-second deficit caused by the penalty to less than 20 seconds and was within striking distance of the class leader when the race was stopped. However, a possible victory for Team BILSTEIN by BLACK FALCON was prevented by the early cancellation of the race.

BLACK FALCON Team 48 LOSCH held back by Eifel weather 
The high-calibre driver line-up of the Porsche 992 GT3 CUP #148 with Steve Jans, Tobias Müller, Noah Nagelsdiek and Morris Schuring dominated practice and finished first in the Cup 2 class in all three qualifying sessions. However, just like the #150, one driver had to withdraw at short notice: Noah Nagelsdiek had to withdraw from the race due to illness, so the #148 also started the race with only three drivers.
Having started from pole position, starting driver Müller also switched to wet tyres early on and gradually fought his way back into the leading group. Schuring and Jans were also able to maintain contact with the front runners when, at around 22:30, a slight contact with the track barrier led to radiator damage. The immediate repair set the team back three laps. Due to the weather-related cancellation of the race, the trio then lacked the time to make up the deficit, meaning that in the end they could only finish 10th in class.

Abrupt end for the BLACK FALCON-BMW M4 #77
The three Americans Charles Espenlaub, Ryan Harrison and Mike Skeen started the race in the #77 BMW M4 GT4 together with the Romanian car owner Alexandru Vasilescu with great optimism. Qualifying in the SP10 class, which had a very strong field of 15 cars, went very well - the team made no mistakes and showed a spotless performance with seventh place on the grid. 
The start was promising for Mike Skeen until a heavy impact into the track barrier in the aerodrome area on lap 10 due to fluid on the track. A following car also skidded on the liquid and crashed into the stationary BLACK FALCON BMW. The collision, which was shown on the live broadcast, caused a moment of shock for the team and spectators. Thanks to a good reaction and the BMW's excellent safety features, Skeen was able to get out of the car under his own power and was uninjured apart from minor bruising. However, the BMW could not be repaired, so the #77 team had to retire from the race after less than two hours.

Alexander Böhm, Team Principal of BLACK FALCON 
"Once again, the Nordschleife challenged us with its typical capricious weather conditions. Although we would have liked to see four cars cross the finish line, we can be very satisfied with the result overall. 
We won the most important class after GT3 with the 992 CUP and finished in the top 20 of the overall standings. The BILSTEIN-BMW M4 only just missed out on class victory because of the cancellation. A big compliment goes to our drivers, who did an outstanding job despite the adverse circumstances. I am very proud of the entire team, who worked flawlessly in difficult conditions and, incidentally, catered for over 300 guests. We are already looking forward to next year, which - statistically speaking - should again go the full distance in fine weather."
 

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