Black Falcon Launches LMP Program

Double Nürburgring 24 winner and former Mercedes GT3 factory affiliate Black Falcon has launched a Le Mans Prototype program, starting with an LMP3 project.

The German team, which withdrew from top-line GT racing last year, will field a Ligier JS P320 Nissan in the Michelin Le Mans Cup for Maik Rosenberg and Donar Munding.

Black Falcon’s foray into the Automobile Club de l’Ouest’s LMP ladder will be led by experienced GT3 racer Lance David Arnold who has joined as project manager.

Black Falcon announced the end of its decade-long Mercedes GT3 program last June, citing the need to guarantee “economic security” during the coronavirus pandemic.

It sold its GT3 assets to the fledgling Haupt Racing Team, which went on to debut in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the Nürburgring 24.

The transition also saw HRT hire several key staff members from the Black Falcon GT3 squad including team principal Sean Paul Breslin and chief engineer Renaud Dufour.

In turn, it enabled Black Falcon to continue racing as an independent outfit. It ran a Mercedes-AMG GT4, a Porsche 911 GT3 MR and a Cayman 982 GT4 Clubsport in the Nürburgring 24 and also committed to Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland with one car.

The team’s new LMP program is set to put it on the support bill for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as a participant in the Michelin Le Mans Cup’s pair of Road to Le Mans races.

Black Falcon plans to run a single car in the full MLMC campaign, while two other Ligiers are set for guest appearances later in the year alongside private testing packages.

“After more than ten years in GT3 racing, we deliberately looked for a new challenge and found it in the form of the Le Mans Prototypes,” said team managing director and founder Alexander Boehm.

“The vehicles in the LMP category are pure-bred racing cars designed on the drawing board and offer – especially due to their aerodynamic performance – top-level driving experience.

“The LMP scene is booming at the moment and new, international applications join it every year. This is particularly attractive for our customers who want to pursue endurance racing at a high, international level.

“After a test phase last winter, we are more than convinced of the LMP concept and have therefore decided on a long-term commitment that will spearhead our customer sports program for the foreseeable future.

“Both LMP3 and LMP4 [Ligier JS P4] test cars will be available for our ever-growing track day community from June 2021, with approximately 20 dates available for booking during the course of 2021.”

Black Falcon’s LMP project commitment follows similar moves into the prototype racing arena from fellow Nürburgring 24 winners Team WRT and Phoenix Racing.

WRT is running Oreca 07 Gibsons in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, while Phoenix recently entered LMP2 and LMP3 cars into Asian LMS.