New Zealander Brendon Leitch will make his Porsche racing debut with renowned Kiwi team Earl Bamber Motorsport in this weekend’s GT Open 500 at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Champion will team up with Malaysia’s Adrian D’Silva in a 20-strong Pro-Am class.
Leitch and D’Silva will also compete for EBM in June’s 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps alongside Earl Bamber and Kerong Li in a Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“I’m really looking forward to racing with Earl Bamber Motorsport,” Leitch told Velocity News. “It’s a little bit of a pinch myself moment. I’ve been fortunate to drive a lot of great cars recently, and this one is also pretty special in my mind.
“The goal for the weekend ahead is to just do as many miles as we can and make sure to iron out any issues we might face heading to the 24.”
Bamber, Leitch, D’Silva and Li are currently in Belgium for the 24 Hours of Spa Prologue. Following the test, the 28-year-old will return to Australia for the third GT World Challenge Australia round at The Bend.
There, he and Australian-based Kiwi Tim Miles sit second in the driver’s standings, having finished fourth in the opening race at Phillip Island before winning the finale in an Audi R8 LMS Evo II.
A return to Europe for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps follows on 26-30 June.
This weekend’s GT Open 500 race, round 3 of the International GT Open series, will last 2 hours and 40 minutes. Each driver will participate in a qualifying session, and the pair’s average time will set the grid.
In the race, each driver will perform two stints, with no double stints allowed, meaning a minimum of three pit stops during the race.
This weekend’s GT Open 500 will be streamed live on YouTube at 10.00 pm NZST on Sunday.
Header Image: Leitch at Spa in 2022. Supplied
Good luck Brendon 👍