Last weekend the 24h Dubai took place at the 5.39km (3.35 miles) long track in the United Arab Emirates. In many respects the race was a first for Max Nilsson. It was his first 24h race with a new car in a new team.
After preparing thoroughly for Dubai with tests in the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 in Germany and Spain and being checked by Dr. Helmut Münch, the doctor for his new team HEICO Motorsport from Germany, he was relaxed when he arrived on Monday.
The Swede could not really evaluate his position at the start of the event but was looking forward to his stints. However, after the first free practice sessions and the qualifying it was obvious that Max Nilsson was feeling comfortable with the car and the team. He shared the car with German record-holding DTM champion Bernd Schneider, Maximilian Buhk (GER), Christiaan Frankenhout (NLD) and Andreas Zuber (AUT).
Nilsson said that his first 24h race was very hard but great fun. Drivers do not have a lot of time to get to know the track because they share the car with other pilots and everyone needs to be able to make the most of the free practice sessions.
His Mercedes Benz worked perfectly right from the start without considerable technical problems. The pilots managed to push forward into the top group very soon after the start and every pilot defended his position in his stint. In the night Nilsson fought an exciting duel with his fellow countryman, Sandström, who drove a BMW Z4 GT3. They fought for every centimetre and the cars made heavy contact at one point even though Sandström could not gain a better place anymore because he was already one lap behind Max Nilsson at that point.
“I felt really good in my last stint despite the exhausting hours before that. I found my rhythm quickly and was able to save valuable fuel due to my driving. When I drove into the pit lane at the end, race control signalled me again to go and get weighed even though they had already weighed me earlier. It was a misunderstanding and the team lost valuable time. In the end we won a great second place. This is a big success for me and the team who have done a perfect job. I feel very comfortable there and I am looking forward to my race”, says an excited Max Nilsson.
Source : Max Nilsson