Vale-based 2 Seas Motorsport ready to defend Gulf race title

PICTURE: The 2 Seas Motorsport team will field two Mercedes AMG GT3 cars in the Gulf 12 Hours race in Abu Dhabi this weekend (Photo James Beckett)

Vale-based 2 Seas Motorsport will field two Mercedes AMG GT3 cars in this weekend's Gulf 12 Hours race at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, writes James Beckett.

Winners of the race last year, the local British-Bahraini backed squad, are looking to maintain their winning form with their Mercedes cars. Isa Al Khalifa, Martin Kodric and Ben Barnicoat will lead the team's attack, while Ian Loggie, Casper Stevenson and British GT Championship race winner, Morgan Tillbrook, complete the team's line-up.

This weekend's race is the tenth running of the Gulf 12 Hours, and the event returns to Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina Circuit after a relocation to the Bahrain International Circuit in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Twelve months ago, the 2 Seas Motorsport team scored pole position, fastest lap, and led at the conclusion of both 6-hour endurance races to take a well-deserved victory.

The 2021 title-winning trio of Al Khalifa, Kodric and Barnicoat join forces once again as they look to repeat the feat in the 'Pro' class of the race, a category that has attracted a strong entry of competitors including Ferrari 488 GT3 cars from both AF Corse and Kessel Racing.

The second 2 Seas Motorsport entry will contest the 'Am' class, with single-seater graduate, Casper Stevenson, making a GT3 debut in the race.

Isa Al Khalifa, team co-owner of the 2 Seas Motorsport team, says, "The 2021 Gulf 12 Hours was a hugely proud moment for me personally, both as a driver and a team owner, winning on home soil in Bahrain. I am extremely pleased that we can return to defend our title, with the added challenge of being back at Yas Marina. I am really looking forward to it."

Adding, "Hopefully we can maintain our momentum into this new season, and start the year on another strong footing. We have two great entries in the race and our line-up is full of youth and experience, and I feel we have a real chance of a strong result."

A feature for the race will be the participation of Valentino Rossi, the recently retired multiple world motorcycling champion. Rossi is known to be looking at the GT scene to continue his motorsport career during 2022 on a full-time basis, and in this race he will share a Monster VR46 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 with Luca Marini and Alessio Salucci.