Al Qubaisi forced to retire in Hankook 24H Dubai race

Sport360 staff 08:09 16/01/2016
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  • Al Qubaisi's Black Falcon.

    Team Abu Dhabi Racing Black Falcon were forced to retire their Mercedes AMG GT3 from the 11th edition of the Hankook 24H Dubai on Friday night denying Khaled Al Qubaisi his latest hat-trick attempt.

    Led by Al Qubaisi, the team comprises of Dutchmen Jeroen Bleekemolen and Indy Dontje and German duo Maro Engel and Hubert Haupt, and saw their race end on lap 119 at Dubai Autodrome.

    Bleekemolen opened the campaign for the Abu Dhabi outfit from fifth on the grid in class, steadily improving upon his lap times from an opening best of 2:04.210 to a personal best of 2:00.328 as the opening two hours progressed.

    The team was second and in a position to start a battle for the lead when contact with a slower car damaged the front left suspension, which required the team to pit.

    Bleekemolen said: “The car was running great and we were catching the cars in front and then I tried to overtake one of the slower GT3s, a Porsche, and then he just turned in on me and I thought he had seen me but apparently not; he pushed me onto the curb and then we touched.

    “I tried to do everything to avoid it but I could not do anything more. I trusted that he had seen me and I could go for the pass, and then he turned in and that was it.”

    It’s the second year running Al Qubaisi and Black Falcon have suffered disappointment. In 2015 the team withdrew four hours into the race after a collision on lap 88 caused damage to the rear suspension.

    Al Qubaisi, who was a winner of the race in 2012 and 2013, said: “Unfortunately, we have to retire due to an incident with another car while trying to overtake. “Thankfully, Bleekemolen is okay; we were P2 when it happened and could have been leading now. Not meant to be, we will try again next year.”

    The race is scheduled to finish at 14:00 today.

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