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2 Seas Motorsport helps secure IGTC honours with a double podium at Gulf 12 Hours
An overall podium and second place Am class finish for 2 Seas Motorsport at the Gulf 12 Hours, helped bring home the Intercontinental GT Challenge titles for driver Jules Gounon and for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. The two car entry saw Jules finish P3 overall alongside Max Gotz and Fabian Schiller, while their teammates Sh. Isa Al Khalifa, Ian Loggie and Al Faisal Al Zubair battled to runner up in class, and a top-10 finish overall. The result signs off a hugely successful season for 2 Seas Motorsport, with further silverware to close out the year.
An overall podium and second place Am class finish for 2 Seas Motorsport at the Gulf 12 Hours, helped bring home the Intercontinental GT Challenge titles for driver Jules Gounon and for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. The two car entry saw Jules finish P3 overall alongside Max Götz and Fabian Schiller, while their teammates Sh. Isa Al Khalifa, Ian Loggie and Al Faisal Al Zubair battled to runner up in class, and a top-10 finish overall. The result signs off a hugely successful season for 2 Seas Motorsport, with further silverware to close out the year.
As double champions, the team arrived at Yas Marina Circuit with high expectations, running with two strong driver line-ups across the Pro and Am classes, the intentions were clear. Jules and Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also led the Intercontinental GT Challenge standings going into the final event, looking to end the season on a high after a string of impressive results.
Both cars were on the immediately on the pace in Qualifying, as each of the three drivers steadily improved through the sessions. With the first two sessions affected by red flag stoppages, the pressure to deliver was on, but the final results put the #14 Mercedes-AMG Team 2 Seas Pro-entry on the front row, while the #3 Am-entry lined up P3 in class, P17 overall.
The race saw the team split the strategies across the two cars, with the Pro car pitting early, from the lead, for one of its mandatory stops. This would bring the strategy to the team, and give more flexibility as the race played out. With the shuffle of the order, Ian in the #3 made steady progress in the opening stint, moving up the overall standings, and firmly in the class podium positions.
Extended caution periods followed in the early stages, limiting further progress for both crews, but the green flag running was optimised as the 2 Seas entries consistently delivered. With three hours completed, the pair were pushing into the top-10 overall, with Fabian taking the Pro-class lead and Isa knocking on the door of the Am-class podium.
As the race reach the middle distance, both cars continued to fight their way up the timesheets, and just after the four-hour mark, Max completed a further pass to reinstate the #14 at the front of the field. From here, he and his Mercedes-AMG teammates continued to lead the field, building a lead to the chasing pack as the midpoint of the race approached. As the clock hit six hours, Isa had also made the move into the final podium position.
Into the final two hours, Jules took over the #14, while Al Faisal completed another strong stint to make way for Isa to run to the flag. Both cars had a healthy margin to the cars behind, while Isa made one final push to gain additional overall positions, and capitalised on misfortune for a Pro-Am front runner in the closing laps. At the line, the pair claimed a double top-10 finish with Jules in P3, while Isa scored P2 in the Am class, P9 overall. The result secured Jules and Mercedes-AMG the necessary points to maintain the lead in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, taking the double title after a year of international battles.
“An absolutely incredible result all round, and I am extremely proud that 2 Seas Motorsport could help Jules and Mercedes-AMG secure the Intercontinental GT Challenge titles. We have raced with Jules all year, and he helped us bring home the British GT Teams’ title, so it was great that we could help return the favour! For me, the race was a great success as well. The team did a faultless job, and amazing to take a double podium with the two cars. We pushed everything to the limit, and it was a great way to round out what has been a fantastic season. Looking forward to using this as a platform to build on things, ready for 2024!”
Sh. Isa Al Khalifa, 2 Seas Motorsport team co-owner and driver, #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I am super thankful to 2 Seas Motorsport for their efforts in helping me achieve the title. They did a fantastic job all weekend, and great to see them with a return to a full Pro line-up. We obviously wanted more, but I think we can all be proud of what we achieved with the two cars, and I am incredibly happy to have taken the title with this team. I’d like to thank every member of the team for their work, and help towards me achieving the Intercontinental GT Challenge title.”
