MOTORSPORT – Bahraini-British motor racing team 2 Seas Motorsport and four-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen have an uphill task ahead of them in today’s season-finale of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe.
2 Seas’ number 222 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo will be starting from the very back of the stacked 61-car grid, while Verstappen and his Team Verstappen Racing crew, driving their 2 Seas-operated number three Mercedes-AMG, will be in 15th as the meeting’s highly anticipated three-hour race flags off at 7pm, Bahrain time, at Autodromo Internacional de Algarve in Portimao, Portugal.
2 Seas’ number 222 trio of Kiern Jewiss, Charles Dawson, and Reece Barr, competing in the series’ Bronze Cup, could not set a time in the second of three qualifying sessions yesterday, drastically impacting their bid for a leading grid position.
They therefore finished at the very bottom of qualifying’s combined classification, although had solid fastest laps in the first and third sessions of one minute 43.110 seconds and 1:42.278, respectively.
They are also last in 17th place amongst the Bronze fleet, which was led by the number 991 BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Paradine Competition, who are starting from 23rd overall.
Their average time from yesterday’s combined qualifying was 1:42.976.
Meanwhile, Verstappen and teammates Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham ranked 15th after the three qualifying sessions while going 11th amongst the Pro Cup runners.
Their average lap time was 1:42.624 – 0.553 seconds off the overall pace of pole-sitters Boutsen VDS in their number two Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.
The Team Verstappen Racing trio’s fastest marks from their qualifying outings were 1:43.124, 1:42.655, and 1:42.093.
“We definitely need to make it a little bit better,” Barnicoat said yesterday.
“So far, the consensus has been we’ve got quite a fast car, but it’s not the easiest to drive.”
“When you got to do an hour stint, if it’s not easy, it catches up with you.”
Earlier yesterday, the 2 Seas-powered pair had promising free practice sessions.
In the first practice, the number 222 crew were second-quickest amongst Bronze competitors with a best lap of 1:42.962 for 15th overall.
Then, in the second session, they ranked 11th in class and 35th overall with a time of 1:43.812.
The number three car, on the other hand, were 13th in the Pro Cup and 20th overall in practice one with a top lap of 1:43.046.
Verstappen and crew made a significant climb up the practice two classification for second amongst Pro Cup contenders and fourth place overall, although had a slower fastest lap time of 1:43.229.
2 Seas Motorsport are co-owned by Bahrain’s Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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