2 Seas Motorsport confirms McLaren entries for 2020 Sprint Cup

The newly formed 2 Seas Motorsport squad has confirmed plans to contest GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS in 2020 with a pair of McLaren 720S entries.

The British-based effort will enter the Sprint Cup with team co-owner Isa Al-Khalifa partnering McLaren factory ace Ben Barnicoat to challenge for overall honours, while a second driver pairing is set to be confirmed shortly.

The European effort will run in parallel with the squad's previously announced Intelligent Money British GT Championship campaign, with 20-year old Bahraini racer Al-Khalifa contesting both as part of an extensive driver development programme.

His teammate, 23-year-old Barnicoat, has been a McLaren factory driver since 2018 and was heavily involved in the development of the brand's 720S. He previously contested the the Sprint Cup with Strakka Racing in 2017 and scored an Endurance Cup podium with Garage 59 the following year.  

“It is great to now be able to confirm the second set of plans for 2 Seas Motorsport and the 2020 season with entry in to the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and I am particularly pleased to have Ben Barnicoat joining the team," commented Al-Khalifa.

"Running as part of the leading European GT3 championship alongside the highly-competitive British GT Championship is a bold step and both will bring new and different challenges, especially for me as I keep pushing myself as a driver, but confidence is high and adding Ben to the team is a real bonus."

Team co-owner Nick Cristofaro added: “Preparations ahead of the new season are progressing extremely well as the various pieces of the jigsaw have slotted in to place.

"The competition level is extremely high, and we have seen that in previous seasons, but we are in a good position and it is great to add Ben Barnicoat to the line-up. I have known and worked alongside Ben since 2012 during his karting career and we won the British, European and world championships together. He is a hugely talented driver, both in terms of raw speed but also in his ability to feed back to the engineers and in setting up a car.

"Plans have obviously changed in recent weeks, but we are in a good place with all aspects of the team and are ready to hit the ground running as soon as the season gets underway.”

The 2 Seas squad is set to join fellow McLaren outfits Optimum Motorsport and Jenson Team Rocket RJN on the grid this term, with the 720S proving a popular choice for the 2020 season.