DUBAI // What a difference a decade makes. When the inaugural Dubai 24 Hours Race was held 10 years ago, the 67-car entry field featured neither an Arab driver nor an Arab team.
On Saturday afternoon, with cars and camels parked in the pit lane, one winner stood on the podium wrapped in a Saudi Arabia flag, a compatriot stood likewise on the third step, and a UAE flag hung above them representing the third-placed team.
Abdulaziz Al Faisal, the Saudi prince and Red Bull athlete, has competed in the emirate’s annual endurance race nine times. He was the first Arab to stand on the podium when his eponymous race team placed second at Dubai Autodrome in 2009.
Since then, he has finished third twice, in 2010 and 2014, but the top step had always eluded him – until Saturday.
Al Faisal, now racing with Germany’s Black Falcon 2 in a Mercedes SLS, helped his team take the chequered flag almost nine minutes ahead of England’s Ram Racing, also in an SLS.
The UAE’s Dragon Racing 1, with Saudi’s Mohammad Jawa behind the wheel, finished third, a little more than one minute further behind.
“It is a very special feeling,” said Al Faisal, who shared the wheel with teammates Hubert Haupt of Germany, Dutchman Yelmer Buurman and Oliver Webb of England. “It has been so hard to win this race. It’s my ninth time here and I’ve been second, third and fourth, so it definitely feels special.
“Now that I’ve finally checked it off and won, I was thinking whether to come back next year, but this race has been a part of me for so long, so I’m definitely going to be back – no doubt.”
Black Falcon 2 started from second on the grid, behind Fach Auto Tech 2 but ahead of 87 others, and remained on the Swiss team’s trail for much of the early stages.
Buurman made the anticipated pass on Lap 22. “With so many cars on the track, you have to be careful to avoid collisions and you have to really plan your overtaking moves,” Buurman said.
The team continued to hold the lead for long periods before starting to pull away at around the seven-hour mark.
By the time they crossed the finish line for the final time, they had completed 604 laps, four more than any other team.
Black Falcon’s other car, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Racing, suffered a race-ending crash on Lap 88 when Khaled al Qubaisi, the Emirati two-time winner, seemed to make a driver error and was hit from the back by a slower car. The car’s suspension and chassis were both damaged beyond repair.
“I had an accident while overtaking,” Al Qubaisi said. “Up until that point, our times and performance were really great. The car showed winning potential.
“We had all the elements to win, but this is motorsport: sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. The mechanics tried their best to fix the damage, but the chassis was also affected so we decided to stop.”
Al Faisal was well aware Al Qubaisi and Co were his team’s “first and toughest competitor”, so when he heard of their retirement, did he allow himself a thin smile?
“Look, what happened could happen to anyone because you make a small mistake and it takes you out,” he said from his motorhome, the Saudi flag draped over a TV and held in place by his winner’s trophy.
“I feel very sorry for them because they put in a lot of effort and to go out so early is the worst thing you can feel – but, on the other hand, their retirement gave us a good opportunity.”
It was an opportunity Black Falcon 2 never looked like throwing away, as they enjoyed a trouble-free race.
“Our car ran perfectly,” said Buurman, who grimaced and grinned in equal measure as he arrived at the podium in Dubai tradition, on top of a camel.
Al Faisal, meanwhile, stood beaming in the background, his flag ready to be unfurled and the Arab drivers ready to stop and soak up their moment in the sun.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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