Southland’s Brendon Leitch will race in two separate series this weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France. Along with Leipert Motorsport teammates Kerong Li and Jean-Francos Brunot, the trio will compete in the Paul Ricard 1000, the second round of the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe as well as Leitch racing in the opening round of the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe (one-make) series.
“I’ll be giving it heaps this weekend,” commented Leitch. “It will be the first time driving a touring car on my own in the Super Trofeo, so absolutely looking forward to it.”
Driving the #86 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2 in the PRO Class, Leitch is one of five Leipert Motorsport entries that will face two fifty-minute races over the weekend.
“I don’t really know much about the field heading into the season,” said Leitch. “I’ve previously raced at Paul Ricard, and I really like the circuit. Last year we got a podium result. It is a really difficult track, quite technical and fast. The car will be set up exactly how I like it, so looking forward to both races.”
Saturday evening sees the running of the Paul Ricard 1000, the second round of the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe for GT3 touring cars using the SRO Motorsports Group’s globally recognised Balance of Performance (BOP) criteria. The six-hour race gets underway at 6 pm with Leitch and teammates using the event as practice for the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of the month.
“It will be all about the three of us and the team getting race practice ahead of our participation at Spa later in the month,” said Leitch. “It will be the same Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO that we raced at the 12 Hours of Spa back in May.”
Leitch will have two Super Trefeo series qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, with one 50-minute race in the afternoon and a second on Sunday. Qualifying for the Paul Ricard 1000 also takes place on Saturday morning, with the race underway at 6 pm.
Keep an eye out for tomorrow morning’s Motorsport Diary to see how you can watch and at what times.
Words & Images: Supplied
