Lights-to-flag victory makes the perfect start to Spa Speedweek for 2 Seas Motorsport

The driver pairing of Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz proved to be the class of the field at British GT’s fly-away race, scoring victory at Spa-Francorchamps. Completing the perfect weekend, the #18 Contempo Concept entry converted pole position to their first win of the season, as their teammates Ian Loggie and Phil Keen continued their championship challenge with a top-5 finish.

The first of two successive weekends racing at the Belgian circuit started well for 2 Seas Motorsport, and both driver crews looked to be on the front foot, heading into qualifying. After early sessions had been run in mixed conditions after heavy rain, the shootout ran with the cars on slicks tyres, and Kevin was immediately quickest with his initial run, before extending his advantage to set the benchmark for the field. Ian also ran well in the opening minutes, continuing to improve his laptimes. From here, Phil delivered a series of strong laps to further enhance the final gridslot for the #6, while Maximilian further tightened the grip at the front of the field to secure a second pole position of the season.

Sunday’s two-hour race got underway briefly, with Kevin making a clean getaway, but Ian was hit as he made his way into the La Source hairpin as part of a bigger incident. Further contact on the run down to Eau Rouge then brought out the red flag as barrier repairs were required.

On the restart, Kevin once again led the field away, and Ian made an immediate move to recover lost positions, moving back into the top-10 shortly after the track went back to green. From here, both drivers continued to deliver strong, consistent laptimes, and saw Kevin draw out a lead, while Ian had moved up to P8 with 50 minutes remaining, closing in on the four-car battle ahead. Shortly after, underlining his pace and determination, Ian made a pass after a strong run through Radillion to take P7.

As the pit window opened, both Kevin and Ian remained on track as the first GT3 cars headed into the pitlane. Ian gained important track position, moving into P5 and running in clear air, before both cars arrived at their pitboxes a lap later. Quick work by both pitcrews saw the cars fully serviced, and Maximilian gained further ground over the chasing pack as he headed out of the pitlane, while Phil was immediately into action.

With the pitstops playing out, and the order now settling, Phil continued to close the gap ahead, while also defending hard, but was delayed as he negotiated through heavy traffic. Despite briefly dropping a position, his huge experience shone through as he made a bold overtake around the outside of the La Source hairpin to move back to P6, before inheriting a further position as one of the leading cars retired in the closing stages.  

At the line, Maximilian converted pole position to his first British GT victory, and a second for Kevin, with a 6.6-second margin. The impressive recovery by Ian and Phil saw the #6 D2 Mercedes-AMG GT3 cross the line in P5 to score more important championship points.

“It was a well deserved result for Kevin and the whole team. We have waited a long time for the result, and been really unlucky so far this season. We have had good pace at each race so far this season, so it was really great to be able to convert that to the top step of the podium. It was a great weekend from the very start. We had great pace all weekend long, across every session, and the car felt great. Kevin did a great job in qualifying which set things up perfectly, and a big thank you to the whole 2 Seas Motorsport team. They did a fantastic job with the set up and pitstop to help bring home the result.”

Maximilian Götz, 2 Seas Motorsport driver, #18 Mercedes-AMG GT3

“An incredible result, and the perfect start to our Spa Speedweek efforts! Kevin and Maximilian were faultless all weekend, and their pace was extremely strong. Great to see them convert pole position to their first win, and hopefully this is the first of many strong results for them. Ian was extremely unlucky at the first corner, which could have destroyed their race but, if anything, that seemed to spur Ian on more. From here, he and Phil put in a really impressive shift to keep fighting, and recover to another top-5 finish. Consistently good results are crucial for their championship challenge, and they didn’t stop pushing until the chequered flag.

“The results are a great way to kick things off as we now set our sights on the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa next weekend. It’s a whole different challenge for the team, but we will be looking to build on this strong foundation as we head into the race. Two hours down successfully, 24 hours to go!”

Isa Al Khalifa, 2 Seas Motorsport co-owner

With another top-5 finish, Ian and Phil still hold P4 in the drivers’ championship, while Kevin and Phil move into P7. The team strengthens its position, holding P3 in the standings.

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