NLS season finale: Best team result for BLACK FALCON

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At the season finale of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), BLACK FALCON achieved the best team result of the 2021 season in the overall standings on an eventful race day.
The start of the final race of the 2021 season had to be postponed due to morning fog and the race duration shortened. After 3 hours and 15 minutes of racing, three of the four cars fielded by BLACK FALCON crossed the finish line in overall positions 6, 10 and 11, thus ensuring a successful end to the season on the Nordschleife.

BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA
The second appearance of the Porsche 911 GT3 R (#19) in the BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA was hard to beat in terms of drama. Noah Nagelsdiek, Carlos Rivas and Hendrik von Danwitz completed a very good test day with the GT3 R on the Friday before the race and, together with the BLACK FALCON engineers, found a good vehicle balance, which was immediately translated into fast lap times. The team therefore started the shortened qualifying session on Saturday morning with great ambitions. Disillusionment soon followed: After the first inspection lap on the Nordschleife, the Porsche returned to the pits with a gearshift problem. In the pit, a problem with the gearbox was diagnosed, which had not been indicated during the Friday test or in preparation for the race Saturday. In order not to risk a retirement, the technicians decided to replace the entire gearbox and completed what is probably the most complex component change on the entire car in just under one and a half hours. Unfortunately, the time between the practice and the race was still too short, so the car could only restart from the pit lane shortly after the start of the race and was running behind the field with a gap of about seven minutes to the front. After a strong start by starting driver von Danwitz, Nagelsdiek took over the IDENTICA Porsche for the second stint before Rivas climbed into the cockpit for the final offensive. With an absolutely flawless performance and consistently fast lap times, the trio fought their way forward by more than 100 positions in just 22 race laps and crossed the finish line in eighth overall position. After the inevitable time penalty for restarting from the pit lane, Nagelsdiek, Rivas and von Danwitz were ultimately classified in 11th place overall.

BLACK FALCON Team TEXTAR
BLACK FALCON Team TEXTAR entered two cars in the NLS season finale and secured its best overall result since the 2019 season with the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup MR SP-PRO (#350). Paul Harkema and Manuel Metzger put the dashing GT3 hunter on a good 18th grid position already in qualifying. In the race, the duo set off real fireworks and crossed the finish line after 23 race laps in sixth place overall and as the best non-GT3 car.
The Porsche Cayman GT4 (#161) of Alexander Akimenkov, Martin Meenen and Vasilii Selivanov started very well into the race Saturday with second place in qualifying. After a good start, the Cayman crashed in the Wehrseifen area towards the middle of the race and was therefore the only BLACK FALCON car not to see the chequered flag in the season finale.

Porsche 992 GT3 Cup - SPX
The first outing of the BLACK FALCON Porsche 992 GT3 Cup in the Nürburgring Endurance Series went off without any problems and was extremely successful straight away. Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, Maik Rosenberg and Mike Stursberg collected a lot of important data for the coming season with the latest model of the one-make cup classic. In addition, they drove a consistent and strong race and, after a flawless drive, were pleased to finish in an excellent tenth place overall.

Timo Frings, Head of Motorsport at BLACK FALCON:
"After this exciting season finale, my special thanks go to the team, who did a phenomenal job today, giving Carlos, Noah, Hendrik and our long-time partner IDENTICA a conciliatory end to the season despite the gearbox change. With the strong performance of the three drivers, our team has provided further proof that the IDENTICA support programme works excellently. At the same time, Paul and Manuel impressively proved with their performance in the Porsche 991 Cup MR SP PRO that the car is currently the best GT3 hunter on the Nordschleife.
The test of the 992 Cup under racing conditions on the Nordschleife also went excellently, we had no problems at all throughout the weekend. Mehmet, Maik and Mike finished the car in the top-10, exceeding all expectations for the test event.
Of course, we would have liked to see Alexander, Martin and Vasilii finish the season, but the occasional slip-up is part and parcel of this sport.
Looking back, we can be very satisfied with the 2021 endurance season. Once again, we celebrated many class victories and also put some big exclamation marks in the overall standings. We were particularly pleased that our partners and fans were able to come to the track and the paddock again. We already have exciting plans for the coming season, which we will concretise in the near future.

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