Mixed feelings after eventful NLS 6h race

Hits: 1846

The 6-hour race of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) was an emotional rollercoaster for BLACK FALCON. While the team from Meuspath celebrated its fourth win of the season and third place in class in the AM classification of the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring (PETN, NLS class CUP2), the fight for the day's victory in the CUP2 class ended about one hour before the end of the race due to a technical defect. The Porsche Cayman GT4 RS (SP10 class) also failed to finish for the first time this season.

BLACK FALCON - Fourth win of the season, podium finish and important laps for the Nordschleife Permit-A
In the AM classification of the PETN, two Porsche 992 GT3 Cup cars started the race for BLACK FALCON. The number 104 911 of Mustafa Mehmet Kaya, Gabriele Piana and Mike Stursberg crossed the finish line after a very strong performance as the winner in the AM classification and in an excellent third place in the fiercely contested CUP2 class - the best result of the season so far for the team, which already celebrated its third AM season victory. Their teammates in car number 103, Peter Ludwig, Noah Nagelsdiek and Maik Rosenberg, also drove a faultless race. After six hours of racing, the trio stood on the podium in the AM classification for the fourth time in the fourth race and collected important points for the championship with AM place three.
In the CUP3 class, BLACK FALCON fielded a so-called Permit B car for the first time this NLS season. Cabell Fisher and Didier Glorieux drove a solid and faultless race in the Porsche Cayman GT4 CS (#980), which competes in the Permit B classification with reduced power. They finished as the best-placed B car in the highly competitive CUP3 and collected important laps for the acquisition of the Nordschleife Permit A for cars without power restriction.

BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA - technical defect prevents podium finish
The BLACK FALCON Team IDENTICA kicked off the NLS 6h race day in excellent form. Paul Harkema and Tobias Müller set the fastest lap in the morning qualifying with their Porsche 992 GT3 Cup (#102) and thus took pole position in the CUP2 class. After a chaotic race start, an extremely exciting five-way battle for the lead developed between the IDENTICA Porsche and four other cars, which provided almost unrivalled action. As the race progressed, the IDENTICA Porsche emerged as one of two clear contenders for the class win. However, around one hour before the end of the race, the number 102 car had to be retired with a major engine failure. Harkema and Müller are now third in the PETN-CUP2 drivers' standings.

BLACK FALCON Team TEXTAR - Retirement on path to the podium
The Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS (#161) of BLACK FALCON Team TEXTAR did not finish the 6h race after a technical defect. After a good qualifying, Carsten Palluth, Reinhold Renger and Tobias Wahl started from second place in the strong SP10 class for cars according to SRO GT4 regulations. In the race, the car had a decent start and was in a promising position before the Cayman had to end the race prematurely after a technical defect.

Alexander Böhm, Managing Director of BLACK FALCON:
"In the AM classification of the CUP2 class, we are still unbeaten after the fourth victory in the fourth race and are in first and second place in the AM table with our cars. At the same time, the Permit-B Cayman has won the CUP3-B classification and thus fulfilled all its objectives. The team and our drivers did a perfect job.
However, we are very disappointed about two technical failures in the same race. In both cases, components failed that had far less than the manufacturer's intended running time - which we could always fully rely on in the past. The parts in question are now going to the manufacturer for analysis and we will do our utmost to ensure that such an incident cannot happen again.
Fortunately, there are two results that will not be considered for the championship in the SP10 class, one of which we are now claiming.
However, the retirement of the IDENTICA Porsche sets us back significantly in the fight for the championship in the Porsche Endurance Trophy Nürburgring. Nevertheless, we accept the challenge and will put everything on the line in the second half of the NLS season to make up for the lost points.
We would like to start right away, so we are already looking forward to the NLS season highlight, the 12h race at the beginning of September."

­On the social media channels of BLACK FALCON you can find continuous updates about the current season:

instagram.com/teamblackfalcon   facebook.com/teamblackfalcon