The FINANCIAL -- The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 scored a commanding 1-2-3 in the Dubai 24-hour race. The Abu Dhabi Black Falcon team claimed victory with Thomas Jäger, Sean Edwards, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi, according to Daimler.

After setting a new distance record of 628 race laps, final driver Al Qubaisi drove the Gullwing with starting number 3 across the finish line. This first place was also the maiden victory for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in a 24-hour race.

The first of HEICO Motorsport’s Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3’s came home second, two laps down. Driving duties in the car with starting number 6 were shared by Maximilian Buhk, Christiaan Frankenhout, Max Nilsson, Andreas Zuber and Bernd Schneider. Schneider, the five times’ DTM champion and AMG brand ambassador, drove in both of HEICO Motorsport’s cars as a part of AMG’s Customer Sports driver support programme. In the team’s sister car with starting number 16, he had been entered to partner Kenneth Heyer, Andreas Simonsen and Rodolfo Gonzalez . In a dramatic finish, final driver Simonsen managed to bring a small margin home to round out the clean sweep of the podium by finishing third.

The fourth of the four SLS AMG GT3s that were entered for the race also finished among the front-runners. The Gravity Charouz Racing team with Vincent Radermecker, Loris de Sordi, Eric Lux , Gerard Lopez and Tomas Enge was classified seventh to complete the good overall performance for the Gullwing cars.

All four Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3s put their mark on the Dubai 24-hour race by showing a commanding performance from the very beginning. In the field of the 72 cars, the Gullwings were among the fastest entries right away. Having started from 15th place on the grid, the Abu Dhabi Black Falcon SLS AMG GT3 moved up into the lead for the first time after two hours. Consistently fast lap times also allowed the other Gullwings to move up quickly into the ranks of the front-runners as well.

During the night, the teams from the AMG Customer Sports programme continued their largely trouble-free run on the 5.39 km long Grand Prix circuit, maintaining their fast lap times and partly alternating in the lead. After one third of the race, the Gullwing with starting number 3 finally took over the lead and held on to it until it crossed the finish line.

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