MOTORSPORT – BAHRAINI-British GT team 2 Seas Motorsport, owned by Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, showed strong pace yesterday on the first of two days of the official prologue ahead of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season.
2 Seas, running their #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in collaboration with Team Verstappen Racing, which is owned by four-time Formula One drivers’ world champion Max Verstappen who was present at the track yesterday, ranked in the top three in the Pro class and in the leading five overall for both of the day’s test sessions, held at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
Meanwhile, 2 Seas’s #222 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was classified in the top 10 in yesterday’s second tests after improving their lap time by nearly a full second from their opening runs.
2 Seas are competing with a two-car entry for the series’ full 2026 calendar.
The prologue continues today with one more session on schedule, scheduled for a 10am start, Bahrain time, and lasting for four hours.
Sharing the driving duties this year in 2 Seas’s #3 contender are Briton Chris Lulham, Spaniard Daniel Juncadella, and Frenchman Jules Gounon.
In yesterday’s first session, which flagged off in the morning, they registered a best lap of one minute 55.031 seconds as third amongst Pro Cup challengers and fourth on the overall timesheet.
Lionspeed GP in their #80 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo were quickest with a top time of 1:54.682, while Eastalent Racing in their #84 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo followed just 0.086 seconds behind. Both are also part of the Pro Cup.
Gold Cup entrants CSA Racing in their #111 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo were third overall 0.330s from the leaders.
Meanwhile, 2 Seas’s #222 crew, featuring the all-British triumvirate of Charles Dawson, Kiern Jewiss, and Reece Barr, ranked 14th from 15 runners in the Bronze class. They clocked a fastest lap of 1:56.536. Herberth Motorsport’s #91 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo were first in their category with a top time of 1:55.085.
In yesterday’s second session, held in the afternoon, the #3 trio were again third amongst Pro Cup competitors while going fifth overall. They clocked a quickest lap time of 1:54.844.
Team GetSpeed in their #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo led their division and were third from all cars with a best lap of 1:54.818, while Lionspeed followed at 1:54.823.
Quickest for the day’s second test were Silver Cup contenders Team RJN in their McLaren 720S GT3 Evo with a fastest lap of 1:54.762, while Bronze Cup entrants Rutronik Racing on their #97 Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo followed in second overall a mere 0.042s off the pace.
The #222 2 Seas car made a significant improvement by going seventh in class and 37th overall in the afternoon. They upped their pace with a fastest lap of 1:55.607.
Following this official prologue, the GT World Challenge Europe’s 2026 season gets underway with the curtain-raising round on Saturday and Sunday. The meeting will be headlined by a six-hour endurance race, scheduled to flag off at 7pm, Bahrain time, on Saturday night and wrap up at 1am early Sunday morning.
This campaign is composed of 10 rounds – five each for the two race durations. Other endurance events will be held at Monza in Italy in May; at Spa in Belgium in June, which will be a 24-hour race; at the Nurburgring in Germany in August; and at Algarve in Portugal in October.
Sprint weekends will take place at Brands Hatch in the UK in May; at Misano Adriatico in Italy in July; at Magny-Cours in France in July and August; at Zandvoort in the Netherlands in September; and at Barcelona in Spain in October.
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