Emirati driver Khaled Al Qubaisi and his Abu Dhabi Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 crossed the finish line at the Dubai Autodrome in first place on Saturday to win the seventh edition of the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai, and in doing so scored one of the most important victories of his career on home soil

Al Qubaisi teamed up with Sean Edwards, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Thomas Jager to secure the first win for Mercedes in the 24-hour endurance race. Looking fresh and visibly delighted immediately after the chequered flag, Al Qubaisi jumped on to the bonnet of his car and punched the air in triumph.

“This was an amazing race and amazing win. My biggest win for sure,” said Al Qubaisi.

“It shows that we in the UAE are capable of putting a team together of the highest standard, competing with the best and beating the best. We were up against top professional drivers from all around the world. And we showed we can do it. Now we need to get the people behind us, so we can be proud to win for the UAE.”

The Abu Dhabi Black Falcon team completed 628 laps, a new event record, around the 5.39 km circuit near Motorcity, and for Mercedes it was a sweet triumph as they also finished second and third with the pair of Heico Motorsport cars finishing second and third respectively.