At the third round of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), BLACK FALCON built on the performance of the season opener three weeks earlier, securing an impressive haul of three class victories and two second-place finishes. The team from Meuspath once again fielded seven cars across five different classes and, as at the season opener, had the best AM car in the entire field with the BLACK FALCON Team EAE’s Porsche 911 GT3 R. In addition to a convincing class victory in the SP9-AM category, the driver trio also secured a strong seventh place in the overall standings. There was also great joy after the four-hour race at Team AV Racing by BLACK FALCON, which secured a one-two finish in the SP10 class with its two BMW M4 GT4 EVOs. The BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC secured the third victory of the day with the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, winning the AT2 class. The strong team result was rounded off by BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN’s second place in the fiercely contested Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN).

 

BLACK FALCON Team EAE
BLACK FALCON Team EAE laid the foundations for their second victory in the second race of the season as early as the 90-minute qualifying session. Although this was marked by numerous yellow flag and Code 60 phases, Daan Arrow, Mustafa Mehmet Kaya and Mike Stursberg timed their fast lap perfectly, securing pole position for the Porsche 911 GT3 R (#5) in the SP9-AM class as well as a strong sixth place overall. In the race, the BLACK FALCON Team EAE then shook up the highly competitive field of PRO cars, particularly in the early stages, and engaged in some thrilling battles within the top 10 of the overall standings. Ultimately, Arrow, Kaya and Stursberg crossed the finish line in a strong seventh place overall. Within the SP9-AM class, they also secured the class victory after the trio had battled on equal terms with a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 over the four-hour distance. The well-deserved reward: another honour as the best AM crew on the overall NLS podium.

AV Racing by BLACK FALCON
Following a brilliant performance with their two BMW M4 GT4 EVOs, AV Racing by BLACK FALCON secured a one-two finish in the SP10 class. The American duo Malcolm Harrison and David Ogburn (#177 BMW M4 GT4 EVO) took turns at the wheel alongside the US-Romanian Alexandru Vasilescu and, in perfect weather conditions, secured victory ahead of their team-mates Judson Holt, Denny Stripling and ‘Russ Turner’, who jointly piloted the sister car (#180 BMW M4 GT4 EVO). AV Racing by BLACK FALCON thus impressively demonstrated that it is not only competitive amongst the SP10 AM crews, but can also hold its own at the front of the overall SP10 class standings. Harrison, Ogburn and Vasilescu had already secured pole position by the narrowest of margins in qualifying with the BMW M4 GT4 EVO and went on to build on this strong performance in the race.

BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC
Following the successful debut of the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup (#632) at the season opener three weeks ago, BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC secured another class victory in the AT2 class at the NLS 3. Compared to the opening race, ‘Jimmy Broadbent’, Steve Brown and ‘Misha Charoudin’ once again demonstrated a significant improvement in performance; furthermore, the team also made considerable progress this weekend in fine-tuning the car in collaboration with Nordschleife specialist Manuel Metzger. All in all, this paid off so well that the BLACK FALCON Team FANATEC was able to celebrate a place in the top 15 of the overall standings for the first time. Furthermore, with this result, the quartet of drivers fielded the fourth-best GT3 Cup car across all classes.

BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN
BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN also made a significant leap forward. Having narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish at NLS 2 last year – despite the team having been crowned “CUP2 PRO-AM Champions” in the PETN’s Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring CUP2 – this time they finally made it: Alexander Hardt, Benjamin Hites and Benjamin Koslowski drove the #900 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup to second place in the fiercely contested CUP2 class. Right up to the finish, the trio were even in contention for victory, which they missed by a mere three seconds at the line. In the day’s standings, Hardt, Hites and Koslowski also secured a strong eleventh place overall. After the first two races of the season, the BLACK FALCON Team ZIMMERMANN lies just two points behind the leader in the PETN CUP2 overall standings, setting the stage for even more excitement in the remaining PETN races following the 24-hour race. 
 
Team LIQUI MOLY by BLACK FALCON
Following their resounding triumph at NLS 2, where the new Team LIQUI MOLY by BLACK FALCON celebrated victory in the CUP2 class on their debut, the three youngsters Ryan Harrison, Raphael Rennhofer and Leon Wassertheurer lacked the necessary luck at NLS 3 despite a strong performance. Following a collision in the early stages, the Porsche 992 GT3 Cup (#902) had to be retired on lap 14 with damage to the suspension. Nevertheless, the driver trio can take many positives from the first two races and will be back in the title fight at NLS 6 in June.

Team BLACK FALCON
In the PETN CUP3 class, BLACK FALCON fielded a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS for the first time this season. Axel Sartingen, who shared the cockpit with ‘Nils Schwenk’ and Simon van Roon, qualified in 14th place in a class featuring a very strong field of 22 cars. In the race, the trio of drivers fought their way up to eleventh place in the class following a flawless performance.