The warm and (relatively) stress-free Gulf 12 Hours paddock at the Yas Marina Circuit last week was the perfect place to catch up with some familiar faces in the sportscar world. With such a big year coming up for all the Mercedes GT3 customers, Sean Paul Breslin, Black Falcon Racing’s team principal, has been high up on DSC’s list to catch up with.
So, with that in mind Stephen Kilbey sat down with Breslin in the team’s paddock villa just before the race to discuss the end of the SLS era and the start of the AMG GT3’s.
So let’s talk about the SLS, as its time at the top of GT3 racing is coming to a close. Do you feel like it’s time to move on, have you gotten the maximum out of the car now?
“Yeah, only because everyone else is coming out with new cars. It didn’t feel like that until the new Audi and Lamborghini were there, and the BMW M6 was revealed. There’s some little details that the SLS needed to improve upon, so now with the AMG GT there’s a chance to do it.”
So what’s Black Falcon’s swan-song for the SLS then?
“This race, the Gulf 12 Hours was going to be the swan-song for the SLS. But we’ll use one in in Dubai now. We’ll have two AMG GT3s, an SLS and two Porsche’s there!”
Tell me about the relationship that Black Falcon now have with AMG, what’s it going to be like for both parties going forward?
“They don’t really have a works supported effort in the way that Audi and BMW have it, but it’ll be a big step from anything they’ve done before with the new car and the service they’ll provide. But we still feel like we’re a customer team.”
So in terms of the development of the new car, have you been able to have a role in that, as one of AMG’s biggest customers?
“Everything that they’ve done with us, everything that they’ve learnt from us running the cars has gone into the new one. They have a strong relationship with our engineers, and they really do listen. We’re the ones that help them the most when it comes to ideas for the new car, so yeah we have our input, but all the development of the new car was done behind closed doors.”
What’s the schedule for the new car?
“We get two next week, and we’ll get a third later on. We’ll have a quick roll out in Germany, and then go straight to Dubai for a test, then there’s the race. After that we’ll come back to Europe for some pre-season tests before everything gets going.”
And have any of your guys had a chance to get a proper look, or some experience running one at a test yet?
“No, we’ve been there while they’ve been testing it, but we haven’t had a chance to test one ourselves. Most of our drivers have had time in the car though.”
What do they feel is the biggest improvement with the car so far then?
“Every little bit is better, there’s just a lot of small things which overall make it an easier car to drive.”
So are they aiming for it to be an all-rounder? A car more suitable to the gentlemen driver like the Ferrari 458 always was and is?
“I don’t know, I can’t say. I think that all the guys we’ve had test it are professional or semi-professional, so for gentlemen drivers it’s too early to tell. I think all the manufacturers are looking for a higher level of performance, rather than it being easier for gentlemen, which for the last generation was the focus.”
Tell me about 2016 then, what’s the plan for the season? Will we see you at the VLN, N24, Spa 24, Blancpain?
“Yes, exactly those things. The VLN and Nurburgring 24 are a big focus with the new car, then there’s the Spa 24 Hours and the Blancpain Endurance Series which we feel are important for us.”
What are you expecting from the car out-of-the-box?
“I think we’ll have every chance to gun for wins. It’s a development of the SLS and has been in development for a long time so there’s no reason why we can’t be competitive right away.
“But in the end it’s all down to balance of performance.”
Stephen Kilbey
