BLACK FALCON victorious at the season opener of the Blancpain GT World Series Europe

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Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe – Race Report Round 1

At the first race weekend of the Blancpain GT World Series Europe at Brands Hatch, BLACK FALCON finished both races on the podium: In the first race on Sunday afternoon, Maro Engel and Luca Stolz (both Germany) finished second. On Sunday evening the duo won the second race of the weekend with their Mercedes-AMG GT3 (starting number 4). As a result, BLACK FALCON has taken the lead in the Blancpain GT Series team classification. Engel and Stolz now also top the drivers' standings after two of ten race weekends.

Stolz and Engel established the foundation for the success in the double qualifying on Saturday evening. In the two 20-minute sessions Stolz secured the team the pole position for race 1 in his part, before Engel qualified the AMG GT3 third for the second round.

In the first race, starting driver Stolz initially defended his lead against the competitors on the first metres before a collision in midfield required the deployment of the safety car causing the race to be neutralised for just over 10 minutes. After the re-start Stolz maintained the lead, but could not significantly pull away from his chasers until the pit stop. At the stop, which in the one-hour Sprint Series race format only consists of driver and tyre changes, the team worked flawlessly and the AMG was back on track in almost no time. A slightly different tactic and a very quick stop of the previously third placed car shortly before the end of the pit stop window caused Engel to lose the supposed lead. In the remaining laps he couldn't find a way around and crossed the finish line in second place two seconds behind.

The second race Engel kicked off the 60 minutes distance from third place. The AMG expert completed a fast and flawless stint and kept close to the two leaders. Lying in third place, he handed over the BLACK FALCON AMG to Stolz at the driver change. With a perfect performance, the team provided a decisive gain in time, so that starting number 4 returned onto the track in the lead. This time, Stolz was able to pull a gap and crossed the finish line with a lead of almost 11 seconds as the winner of the second run.

The Blancpain GT Series will already run the third of ten race weekends next weekend. The Endurance Cup will take place not too far from Brands Hatch at Silverstone. As usual, BLACK FALCON will compete with two AMG GT3: Yelmer Buurman (Netherlands), Maro Engel and Luca Stolz share the blue car with starting number 4, Patrick Assenheimer (Germany), Hubert Haupt (Germany) and Gabriele Piana (Italy) drive the green AMG with starting number 6.

General information about the Blancpain GT Series
In the 2019 season, the Blancpain GT Series features ten racing events on Europe's most famous circuits. The championship is divided into two disciplines, each with its own classification: The Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, which consists of a 1000km race, three 3-hour races and the famous 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, and the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, which runs two one-hour races on five race weekends each. BLACK FALCON takes on the role of the defending champions of the team and driver classification in the Endurance Cup in 2019 and extends its commitment to the World Challenge Europe sprint discipline to win the overall Blancpain GT Series standings.

Race Calendar Blancpain GT Series 2019
13. – 14.04:  Round 1, Monza, Endurance Cup
04. – 05.05:  Round 2, Brands Hatch, GT World Challenge Europe
11. – 12.05:  Round 3, Silverstone, Endurance Cup
31.05 – 01.06:  Round 4, Paul Ricard, Endurance Cup
28. – 30.06:  Round 5, Misano, GT World Challenge Europe
12. – 14.07:  Round 6, Zandvoort, GT World Challenge Europe
25. – 28.07:  Round 7, Spa, Endurance Cup
30.08 – 01.09: Round 8, Nürburgring, GT World Challenge Europe
06. – 08.09: Round 9, Hungaroring, GT World Challenge Europe
28. – 29.09: Round 10, Barcelona, Endurance Cup

TV broadcasting, live streaming and social media
A extensive live streaming service including live timing is available for all qualifying sessions and races on the official Blancpain GT Series website, YouTube and Facebook channel. More information about the BLACK FALCON team is available daily on the team's social media channels:

instagram.com/teamblackfalcon          facebook.com/teamblackfalcon