MOTORSPORT – BAHRAINI-British motor racing team 2 Seas Motorsport powered to a sensational first-ever victory in the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) yesterday, after taking the chequered flag in class in round three of the 2024-25 season at Dubai Autodrome.
The 2 Seas crew of American Anthony McIntosh, Canadian Parker Thompson, and Briton Ben Barnicoat clinched first place amongst the GT contenders in their #96 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
2 Seas, co-owned by Shaikh Isa bin Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, are making their first competitive appearance of 2025 in the UAE, and have gotten their campaign off with a positive start.
After qualifying 10th for the weekend’s first of two races, 2 Seas battled throughout the four-hour event and took over as leaders late on.
They secured their historic triumph on their debut season in the ALMS, which is the continent’s premier endurance racing championship. It is run by the organisers of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, and it features six races at three tracks this season.
Teams competing in the ALMS are not only gunning for championship glory, but also for invitations to race in Le Mans later this year – one of the biggest and most prestigious events in all of motorsport. The champions of both the LMP2 and GT classes will be awarded invites to be a part of the iconic event in France, which is a part of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Following their solid start in the free practice sessions on Friday, 2 Seas stepped it up yesterday and posted a best lap of one minute 51.619 seconds in qualifying to secure their place in row five on the grid for round three.
They were able to take over at the front with less than two minutes remaining in the race when the #10 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Manthey team dived into the pits for a splash of fuel.
This allowed Barnicoat, who was in the car and had been closing the gap to Manthey’s Klaus Bachler, to sweep ahead and eventually take the chequered flag with 85 laps completed.
2 Seas had a 3.212-second gap from runners-up Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, and Richard Lietz in the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Manthey EMA team, while taking third in class were Kessel Racing’s #74 crew of Dustin Scott Blattner, Ben Tuck, and Dennis Marschall in their Ferrari 296 GT3.
From the GT field, 24 cars finished, with three not classified.
2 Seas will now be looking to repeat their success today in the meeting’s second four-hour race at Dubai Autodrome, scheduled for a 1.10pm start, Bahrain time. It will mark the fourth round of the season.
2 Seas will start from 11th on the grid after posting a second-fastest lap of 2:00.204 during yesterday’s qualifying session.
Following the ongoing events in Dubai, the season’s last two races will then take place at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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