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Khalid Al Qubaisi Part Of Pole Position Winning Team Abu Dhabi Black Falcons Mercedes Team
It was a frantic 24 hours since the Team Abu Dhabi by Black Falcons Mercedes team car, carrying the number one plate for winning last year’s Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai, crashed into the wall at Turn 3, on Wednesday, during free practice for the eighth edition of the race.
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Since then the team, consisting of Dutchman Jeroen Bleekemolen, Briton Sean Edwards, German Bernd Schneider and Emirati driver Khaled Al Qubaisi, have endured a franctic time to source a car from a rival team, rebuild the car to their specifications and get the car back out on track for qualifying.
Having managed to achieve this Bleekemolen then stormed around Dubai Autodrome to set the fastest lap of 1 minute 59.104 seconds and claim pole position for his team, beating eighty other teams in the process.
As a result Al Qubaisi becomes the first Emirati driver to be part of the pole winning team at the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai.
“My feelings at the moment of the incident, compared to right now after taking pole position for the race, are totally opposite. After we saw the damage and realised it was major i was not happy, but an hour later we made the decision not to give up and find a way back into the race,” reflected Al Qubaisi.
Al Qubaisi become the first UAE driver to win the race when he and the Team Abu Dhabi Black Falcons scored a famous victory in last year’s race.
Al Qubaisi, sporting a big grin, was clearly satisfied after the final qualifying session on Thursday afternoon, “As I said before you need an element of luck, and we were lucky as we found another team with a spare Mercedes like ours. So we got hold of that, put all our bits and pieces from our wrecked car into the substitute car. We also worked on the setup so it was more suited to our style and needs.”
“It was an amazing job from everyone in the team. The mechanics worked throughout Wednesday night to rebuild the car to our specifications,” said the Abu Dhabi resident. “But after all that and to take pole, the result is rewarding. I would have been happy if we were in the top ten and our times around the 2 minute 6 seconds mark. But to do 1 minute 59 seconds and claim pole is really unbelievable. I really can't describe it and right now.”
“For me the feeling is almost like winning last year, considering what we went through over the past 25 hours and this is no verification for us that we have a good car and we are very much in with a chance for the race. Hopefully all our bad luck is no behind us, and for the race luck is on our side and we have a good chance to win it again. And if that is the case it has all been worth it,” concluded Al Qubaisi.
At 2.00pm on Saturday (11 January) ATCUAE President and FIA vice president Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem will flag off the 82 cars who will battle it out until 2.00 pm on Saturday.
Entry throughout the event is free for race fans, with access to the grandstands and unprecedented access to the paddock area.
PaddockTalk Perspective
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