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Sizzling Oulton Park delivers first British GT podium
The Bank Holiday did not disappoint as British GT arrived at Oulton Park for the first double header event of the season. The action across the two 1-hour sprint races was as hot as the weather, and saw 2 Seas Motorsport score its first podium of the championship, with both sides of the garage securing solid points. Kevin Tse and Ben Green opened the weekend with a top-6 finish before fighting hard to claim P3 in the action-packed second event. Aaron Walker continued his championship challenge alongside the returning Ian Loggie, with the pair taking a pair of P4 finishes in class, inside the top-10 overall.
P4 was the order of the day during Saturday's qualifying sessions, with each driver setting their own grid position individually. Kevin's pace was immediately apparent in the quick-fire session, and he battled near the front of the field to secure a place on the second row. A penalty from the season-opener would drop him down the order to start P9. With Ian now confirmed for a full season after an 18-month absence, the former champion looked immediately at home in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, and would start the opening race of the weekend P4 in class, alongside his teammate on the fifth row of the grid overall. The second session saw Ben also pushing at the sharp end, ultimately matching Kevin's result and lining up P4. Aaron similarly repeated Ian's efforts, taking P4 in the Silver class, inside the top 10 overall.
Action was immediate in Race 1 as the grid charged into the narrow opening corner, with contact near the front of the field. Both Kevin and Ian did well to avoid the incident – Kevin maintaining position while Ian was briefly forced off track – before both settled into a clean opening stint. As the pit window opened, almost the entire grid headed into a busy pitlane, with quick work from the crews sending both drivers back out having gained positions.
The #18 Contempo Concept entry rejoined with Ben at the wheel in P8, while Aaron was knocking on the door of the top 10 before a full course caution neutralised the field. With less than 15 minutes remaining, the track returned to green and both drivers continued to make ground as the stops played out. Ben crossed the line P6 overall and P4 in Pro-Am, while Aaron matched his class result with P4 and the final points-paying position overall.
Race 2 ramped up the action even further, with Ben and Aaron taking the opening stints. A cleaner start to the race saw both hold position despite intense pressures, entering the pitlane running P4 in their respective classes at the midpoint. Another hectic pit window was negotiated faultlessly, allowing Kevin to leapfrog into podium contention and Ian back inside the overall top 10.
Over the final half, Kevin hunted every opportunity around the tight and twisty circuit, latching onto the rear of the pole-sitter and managing traffic well. Despite strong pace, he was unable to make a move stick and crossed the line just 0.5 seconds adrift in P3 – securing a maiden trophy of the season. Ian also rounded out a strong stint with a second P4 class finish of the weekend.
The championship now heads overseas for round 4 at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps, as the team prepares for Spa Speedweek. British GT kicks things off over the weekend of 20-21 June, before the team turns its attention to the headline event of its GT World Challenge Europe campaign. The Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa follows on 24-28 June, with 2 Seas Motorsport set to run three confirmed entries.
