2 Seas Motorsport takes class honours at the Nürburgring

It was a hard-fought race of strategy and determination at the Nürburgring for 2 Seas Motorsport, securing a double podium result. Returning to round 4 of the Endurance Cup, the British-Bahraini squad ran the #222 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Charles Dawson, Tom Lebbon and Ben Barnicoat, who climbed the order over three hours to take Bronze Cup honours. The team also continued the support of the #33 Verstappen.com Racing effort, which took victory on track with Harry King, Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen before a post-race penalty would drop them to P3 in class, P17 overall. The Gold Cup podium result maintains the lead in the standings with one round to go.

Both sides of the garage made strong improvements during the early sessions of the weekend, as they got to grips with the circuit. The #33 line-up continued to work, as they have done to-date, fine-tuning and fully preparing for their impressive challenge for the championship title in their debut season. In the #222, British GT championship leader Charles Dawson was making only his second GT World Challenge race start, while his teammate Tom Lebbon was making his Nürburgring and series debut, as well making as his first outing in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

A busy qualifying session saw the record grid of 61 cars jostling for position, with traffic playing a major part in the overall outcome. The #33 trio continued the strong run of form they have shown so far, combining for a top-5 class result, and inside the overall top-20. Meanwhile, the Bronze Cup line-up fought hard against a strong field to qualify P12 in class, just outside the top-50.

A typically chaotic Nürburgring start offered opportunity for both teams, with positions gained on the opening laps. Thierry in the #33 was quickly into the podium positions, gaining a further position on the second lap. Meanwhile, while Charles gained an impressive 11 positions in the opening laps, and moved up the class order before the first full course caution of the race. On the restart, Thierry maintained position and would move into the lead of the Gold Cup just before the end of his stint. Charles continued his push forwards, moving into the class podium positions and into the top-30 just as the pitstop window opened.  

As the stops played out, the #33 returned to the top of the Gold Cup standings with Chris at the wheel. He continued to battle through the field, holding the class lead for the duration of his stint. Meanwhile, Tom showed experience and poise above his standing, as he made his way out on track for his series debut. Running in P4, he closed down the final podium position and made the move stick with 20 minutes of his stint remaining. The impressive debut then saw him make a further pass just before the hour mark, eventually pitting later than the leader to conclude his impressive debut stint from the race lead.

With a lengthy caution period over the final pitstop window, the final stint got back underway with 45 minutes remaining. Harry controlled the restart well, continuing to work at climbing the overall order as his teammates had done over the preceding stints. Ben, meanwhile, set about closing the gap to the class leader, and was within striking distance with 30 minutes remaining. A clean pass then allowed the #222 to run in clean air, holding position to the chequered flag. The end result saw both the #33 and #222 claim victory on track, but a post-race penalty would add 10 seconds to the race time for the Verstappen.com Racing effort to finish P3.

“An exceptional weekend for the team, and we couldn’t have asked for better results overall on track. It has been a huge effort by both sides of the garage, running the perfect strategies across both cars and delivering strong pace. The Verstappen.com Racing crew had another strong weekend, another podium, and more important points for the championship, so it is now full focus and one more big push in Barcelona.  

“A big congratulations to Charles, Tom and Ben for their win in the Bronze Cup, as well. A first weekend for them campaigning together as a trio, and they just didn’t give up. Charles has shown his mettle in British GT with us this year, but his stint set the tone for an impressive effort by the whole crew. Tom also delivered an amazing drive, especially considering he was making his debut In the championship, and his lack of experience in both the car and of the track! Ben then did what Ben has done time and again with us. This, combining with a great strategy, delivered the perfect result.”

Isa Al Khalifa, 2 Seas Motorsport team co-owner.

The final race of the British GT Championship takes place with a second visit of the year to Donington Park. The Driver and Teams’ titles will be decided over the weekend, 04-05 October.

Round 5 concludes the championship in Barcelona over the weekend, 10-12 October.

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