June 21st 2021-With a switch to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the 2021 season, 2 Seas Motorsport now confirms a return to the track later this week for the first competitive event with the new model. The team will join the Intelligent Money British GT Championship grid with the exciting Silver-Am pairing of Hunter Abbott and Martin Kodri? to take on the Silverstone 500 over the weekend, 26-27 June.
2 Seas Motorsport returns to the 3-hour event following a strong showing last season where the team secured a double top-5 finish. Martin, making his series debut, joined the team for a one-off appearance and claimed an impressive 4th place finish against a star-studded field. Following this result, he also helped the team to outright victory at the Gulf 12 Hours Bahrain during the team’s last race. Martin is a proven GT3 front-runner and brings a wealth of global experience and success to the team. The Croatian driver was crowned Blancpain GT Asia champion in 2018 and has also taken Silver class victory at the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour and a podium at the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Martin is joined in the #14 Mercedes-AMG GT3 by British driver Hunter Abbott as the pair reunite after taking top honours in the Pro-Am class at the final round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in 2017. Hunter now returns to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship for the first time since 2016, claiming 5th place on his last outing when the championship visited Spa-Francorchamps. Hunter is also no stranger to the Mercedes-AMG having secured the Blancpain GT Series Asia title in 2017 with the Stuttgart brand. More recently, he has competed extensively in the VLN championship at the Nürburgring in Germany and secured an impressive top-4 finish in his GTE debut during the 2020 season.
“Apart from a one-off in 2020, it’s been almost two years since I last raced so I can’t wait to be back in British GT and competing at Silverstone; it is such an iconic circuit and championship, both of which hold very fond memories. It is great to be racing with 2 Seas Motorsport and back sharing a car with Martin, and of course, getting to debut their new Mercedes-AMG is the cherry on top of the icing on the cake! It is going to be a tough challenge with the calibre of the grid this year, and our relative lack of seat time, but I cannot wait to get the weekend started.” Hunter Abbott, #14 Mercedes-AMG, 2 Seas Motorsport.
“It is really great to confirm our return to the British GT Championship as the debut outing with the Mercedes-AMG. This is one of the most competitive GT3 series in the world, and the Silverstone 500 is a true highlight of the season. Martin and Hunter are proven as winners at the highest levels, and I am excited to see what we can achieve with them in the car. We had a good result at the event last year with a double top-5 finish, and we are looking to hit the ground running and to challenge the front-running teams again this year.”Nick Cristofaro, 2 Seas Motorsport team co-owner.
“It has been a long break for the team since crossing the line in Bahrain back in January, and we have been carefully reviewing the different options and opportunities open to us before committing to any decisions this year. I am really pleased that we have been able to make this weekend happen with Hunter and Martin in the car for the Silverstone 500, and to return to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship where we debuted as a team last year. I am also extremely proud to see our new cars in the new livery and to racing with our sponsors as part of the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing family.”
Sh. Isa Al Khalifa, 2 Seas Motorsport team co-owner.
The team has reviewed the plans for the season in parallel to a busy period off-track, and the Bahraini-British team will make this initial one-off entry in the championship’s blue riband event at the home of British motorsport. Further plans for the remainder of the year will be confirmed in the coming weeks.