If there were a contest for the most frequent-flyer points, Brendon Leitch might have every other New Zealand driver covered in 2026.
As the season nears the finish line, Leitch has racked up 15 race weekends and still has 10 more to go.
The penultimate round of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Sydney Motorsport Park on September 18-20 is the second of five consecutive events.
Leitch recently contested the Suzuka 1000km, where he stood out in his own right. In the 28-car qualifying session in fading light, Leitch was fourth fastest and just 0.141s away from factory Ferrari driver Alessio Rovera, who posted the fastest time.
Leitch and Rovera were both behind the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO for Harmony Racing and Maezawa Racing respectively.
Only Rovera, Max Hesse and Dan Harper were quicker than Leitch. More importantly, the New Zealander had big-name talents Phillip Ellis, Mathieu Jaminet, Dorian Boccaacci, Frederic Vervisch, Julien Andlauer and many more behind him.
“If there were any doubts in my mind before, they’re gone now. I think Suzuka showed I can foot it with the very best GT drivers in the world,” said Leitch.
“Everyone knows our Suzuka entry came together pretty late. I was honestly expecting to be watching it at home on the couch.
“To rock up there at the 11th hour and come that close to topping qualifying is pretty rewarding. I’m pretty proud of that effort, especially considering I had more left in the tank.
“Earlier this year I didn’t really get to show my hand at the Bathurst 12 Hour because of the issues we had with the car, so to do the Suzuka 1000km and string a personal performance together like that is pretty satisfying.”
After the second-to-last GT World Challenge Australia round in Sydney he will head to Italy to race GT Open at Monza with Australia’s Nicolas Stati in a Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO II.
Following that, he’ll head to China and the streets of Beijing for the penultimate GT World Challenge Asia round with Jiajun Song in the Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO.
The goal is the same with all of his customers — get results through driver development.
“What’s been really rewarding is being able to go from car to car and know that it doesn’t matter what I’m driving, I know that I’m capable,” said Leitch.
“With all of my customers, we’ve made massive steps very quickly. With Sergio in GT World Challenge Australia, he scored his first win in the series and we’re right in the thick of it to win the championship.
“With JJ in GT World Challenge Asia, we’re not far away from his first podium or even a win. You can see in his lap times and the race results that he’s made massive strides forward.
“With Nic, he’s already a very talented teenager, but I’m teaching him all the lessons that I’ve learned over the last 15 years to steer him in the right direction and achieve his goals and ambitions just that little bit quicker.
“That’s my job, at the end of the day, to coach these guys and to build their confidence, and I think anyone watching can see that.”
While Leitch is perhaps best known for his success with Lamborghini, winning the Super Trofeo Europe title in 2023, if anything he has proven his versatility. Just this year, Leitch has raced GT3 equipment from Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari and has previously driven cars from Porsche, BMW and Audi.
He’ll soon add a Supercar to the mix with his Dunlop Super2 Series debut for Team Kiwi Racing at Mount Panorama as part of the Repco Bathurst 1000 undercard.
“Bathurst is going to be a big opportunity. I’ve said before that the key is to just have fun, but part of me also wants to show that I’m not a one-trick pony in GT cars,” Leitch explained.
“I’ve driven so many different makes and models the last few years that I honestly don’t think it matters what I drive, I honestly believe I could rag a result. Give me a shopping trolley, and I’ll figure it out eventually.”
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Sydney Motorsport Park takes place on September 18-20.
Header Image: Supplied
