2 Seas overcome adversity to bring home British GT points at Spa

The annual overseas British GT round was as much a race against time, as it was on track for 2 Seas Motorsport. Arriving at Spa-Francorchamps, the team held the lead in both the drivers’ and teams’ standings, looking for another strong weekend. However, incidents during testing and practice affected both sides of the garage, but the team recovered to present both cars with minimal track time lost, and a top-6 finish for Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss. The result maintains the championship lead with four rounds to go.

A heavy impact during the afternoon of Friday testing at the infamous Raidillon saw the driver, Kevin Tse, walk away, but a replacement Mercedes-AMG GT3 chassis needed to be sourced and transported to the circuit. Quick work by the team found a new car in Germany, which was set up and prepared overnight, rolling out for the start of the first official practice of the weekend the following morning. Further problems then followed as the sister car then suffered contact in that opening session, requiring front end repairs to be carried out. Despite these setbacks, and a true testament to the hard work and determination of the crew behind the scenes at 2 Seas Motorsport, both cars were fully fixed and took part in the afternoon’s qualifying shootout. Not only did they take part, but both were firmly in the mix at the sharp end of the sessions, with Kevin and Maximillian Götz starting on the second row, while championship leaders Charles and Kiern lined up just behind them.

The race got underway without incident, with Charles making a pass on his teammate as both cars battled to move forward in the opening 30 minutes. The pair continued to challenge at the front, and Charles moved up into the podium positions making a bold move stick around the outside around Blanchimont. Not to be left behind, Kevin followed shortly after with a double pass in the final Bus Stop Chicane, to see the pair now running in formation, and would both gain further ground following an incident for one of the leaders.

At the hour mark, Kevin pitted for his first routine stop, while Charles extended his stint to run in clean air and move into the lead. Brake issues shortly after rejoining the track would force Max back to the pitlane for the team to diagnose and fix, before Charles made way for his teammate, Kiern. A Full Course Yellow caution shortly after would see the team roll the dice with the strategy, calling Kiern in to switch back and, crucially, completing the second of three mandatory stops. A strong restart moved Charles up from P8, now holding the pitstop advantage over the cars immediately ahead. However, a drivethrough penalty would mean an unplanned tour of the pitlane, and holding position before Kiern took over for the final stint. Max and Kevin returned to the track, albeit out of contention, but delivering front-running pace, highlighting what could have been.

With 30 minutes remaining, Kiern recovered a position, and as the final pitstop strategies shuffled the order one last time in the closing minutes, the #42 moved into the top six. At the line, the championship leaders scored P6, while Kevin and Max closed out the weekend just inside the top-20.

The team now prepares for a second consecutive race weekend at Spa, as focus shifts focus to the headline event of the GT World Challenge Europe campaign; the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa.

The team will once again run the Verstappen.com Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with Harry King, Chris Lulham and Thierry Vermeulen. Alongside this will be a slightly revised driver line-up in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which returns for a second consecutive effort, with British GT pairing of Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss running with Parker Thompson and Lewis Williamson.

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