Tough return to the Gulf 12 Hours signs off the 2024 season

The 2024 race season concluded for 2 Seas Motorsport over the weekend, with a return to the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours. Running in conjunction with Grove Motorsport, the team was one of the favourites for a strong result at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina, running with father-and-son pairing Stephen and Brenton Grove, alongside Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver, Jules Gounon. The trio looked in a strong position from the start, before heavy contact in the fourth hour brought any hopes of a challenge for victory to an early end. Despite the setback, the team was able to recover and successfully signed off the busy 2024 campaign, bringing the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 home, P6 in class, P17 overall.

With a condensed schedule over the weekend, Saturday saw extensive running with three practice sessions building up to the qualifying shootout. Pace looked strong for the three drivers, topping the timesheets in the final session prior to the last qualifying run of the year. With the average times from all three drivers setting the grid, Brenton, Stephen and Jules combined well, lining up on the second row for the start of the two-part 12-hour battle.

A confident start to the race from Jules saw two positions gained by the exit of turn 1, and battling for the lead, before a strategy call saw him take to the pitlane at the end of the opening lap. With mandatory timed pitstops required throughout the race, an early stop opened opportunities for later in the race, and Jules was quickly back on track and gaining places in the opening phase. By the end of the first hour, as Brenton took over, the #4 had climbed to P14, and Brenton continued this progress to move up to P6 by the end of the second hour.

As pitstop strategies played out, and with a mandatory stop in hand over the competition, Brenton moved into the overall race lead before handing over to Stephen as the third hour commenced. Caution periods reshuffled the order, but pace and progress were still strong as the race got back underway, and Stephen was running strongly inside the top 10. However, as he moved into the second half of the stint, an uncalculated move from a chasing Lamborghini saw heavy contact with Stephen, resulting in damage to the front suspension. He recovered to the pitlane, and the team set to work on repairs, but any chance of victory slipped away.

The amount of damage meant more than 30 minutes lost in the pitlane, which would never be recoverable, but the whole team, Jules, Stephen and Brenton continued the fight and got the car back on track. From here, the race took on a different challenge, but pace remained strong and the #4 steadily worked its way back. Over the course of the remaining hours, positions were regained, and the team continued to deliver the same precision and determination, despite the setback.

The first part of the race, concluding at eight hours, saw the #4 running just outside the top 20. Running their own race, but no less committed than at the start of the first part, the second four-hour part of the race then saw further overall positions gained, eventually crossing the line P17, and P6 in the Pro class.

“What a fantastic weekend it was with 2 Seas Motorsport. Everything ran faultlessly; the car was fast; and, the team did a great job. The end result was a shame, but we were able to show the potential of our lineup throughout the weekend. Here’s to bigger and better things in 2025.”

Brenton Grove, 2 Seas Motorsport driver, Mercedes-AMG GT3.

“It wasn’t the end result that we were hoping for, of course, but I could not be more proud of the team. Incidents are part of motorsport, but it was a real shame that our challenge was brought to an early end how it was. Stephen, Brenton and Jules had all done a perfect job up to that point, and were looking in a great position with a pitstop in hand, but it wasn’t to be. The determination and will to get the car fixed, back out, and to bring it home was clear across the whole team, and it highlighted what a strong crew we have – as it did earlier this year at Spa. It was a pleasure to work with Stephen, Brenton and the Grove Racing team, and hoping this is the start of something exciting.”

Isa Al Khalifa, 2 Seas Motorsport team co-owner.

The team returns to the track early in 2025, as the Asian Le Mans Series recommences in Dubai for rounds 3 and 4, over the weekend, 7-8 February.

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