Kiwi drivers Brendon Leitch and Chris Van Der Drift were in action over the weekend at Sepang, Malaysia, for Round 5 of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series, the penultimate round of the 2025 Championship.
Leitch teamed up with Chinese co-driver Jiajun Song for Leipert Motorsport in the #89 Lamborghini, competing in the Pro-Am class. Following a challenging round in Inje, South Korea, back in July, the duo were determined to rebound with strong results.
Van Der Drift, returning to the series after just over a year away, partnered with Australian driver Todd Kingsford in the #98 FEYNLAB Racing Lamborghini, competing in the Pro class.
The Sepang International Circuit spans 5.543 km and features 15 turns, with the longest straight measuring 927 metres.
Race 1 Recap
Solo-driver Peter Li (Zhicong Li) claimed pole in the Pro class for Race 1, topping qualifying ahead of Charles Leong and Alex Denning (SJM Theodore Racing), who joined him on the front row.
The second row featured Bihuang Zhou and Supercars driver Bryce Fullwood for Climax Racing (Pro-Am) in third, followed by Zhiwei Lu and Kang Ling (Pro-Am).
Van Der Drift emerged as the fastest Kiwi in qualifying, securing 11th on the grid for the #98 Lamborghini alongside the Am class #76 Climax Racing Lamborghini of Dongsheng Li/Donghui Li.
Leitch and Song qualified 15th after receiving an earlier penalty and would start alongside Am class duo Haziq Zairel Oh/Hairie Zairel Oh in the #5 HZO Fortis Racing Team Lamborghini.
Race 1 began under hot, humid, and dry conditions for a 50-minute, time-certain contest. On the opening lap, Peter Li initially led before Denning surged into the lead. The top five quickly pulled away, forming a competitive pack.
Kingsford slipped to 12th behind Nicolas Stati on the opening lap but regained the position on lap two. Song maintained 15th, defending against Haziq Zairel Oh/Hairie Zairel Oh.
Early battles saw Peter Li, Fullwood, and Kang Ling collide at Turn 1 on lap three, after Fullwood had overtaken Ling on the previous lap. Fullwood soon passed Peter Li, moving into second overall and first in Pro-Am.
By lap two, Song lost two positions to Umar Abdullah/Dypo Fitramadhan (#86 Am class Delta Garage Racing Team Lamborghini) and Haziq Zairel Oh/Hairie Zairel Oh (#5 HZO Fortis Racing Team Lamborghini), running 17th overall, seventh in Pro-Am, and 22 seconds behind the leader.
Kingsford advanced to 10th on lap four, passing Ethan Brown (#27 Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini) and targeting the Pro-Am duo of Changwoo Lee/Jiatong Liang (#63 SQDA-GRIT Motorsport Lamborghini). Fullwood set the race’s fastest lap (2:11.08) on lap six while chasing Denning.
By lap eight, Song remained 17th overall and seventh in class, 50 seconds off the lead, blocked behind four Am class drivers.
At the 30-minute mark, the 10-minute pit window opened. Kingsford pitted first for his mandatory driver change, handing over to Van Der Drift. Song followed shortly afterwards, handing the #89 car to Leitch.
Denning retained the lead after the pit cycle, with Leong now in the car. Zhou took over from Fullwood, holding second overall and leading Pro-Am. Van Der Drift’s early pit stop undercut competitors, moving him to fifth overall and second in Pro-Am, just 10 seconds behind Zhou.
Leitch battled Fitramadhan for 14th, advancing to 14th overall. Peter Li received a six-tenths-of-a-second penalty for a pit stop violation, while Van Der Drift closed rapidly on Zhou.
With ten minutes remaining, Van Der Drift passed Peter Li and then Nazim Azman, overtaking Zhou shortly afterwards to claim second overall and the Pro-Am lead. Charles Leong maintained the Pro class lead with a 13-second advantage.
On the final lap, Van Der Drift reduced the gap to Leong to 9.7 seconds while extending his margin over Zhou to 10 seconds.
Race 1 Results:
- Pro Class: Denning/Zhou 1st, Azman/Carde 2nd, Peter Li 3rd
- Pro-Am Class: Van Der Drift/Kingsford 1st, Zhou/Fullwood 2nd, Changwoo Lee/Jiatong Liang 3rd
- Am Class: Haziq Zairel Oh/Hairie Zairel Oh 1st, Abdullah/Fitramadhan 2nd, Dongsheng Li/Donghui Li 3rd
Race 2 Recap
For Race 2, Leong/Denning started from pole position following the second qualifying session, joined on the front row by Leitch/Song after a strong qualifying performance. Row 2 featured Brown in third, alongside Van Der Drift/Kingsford in fourth.
The race got underway under cooler, overcast conditions. Leong initially led into Turn 1, but nearly collided with Leitch and Van Der Drift, with Leitch emerging ahead of Van Der Drift. Leong ran wide at the same corner, handing the lead to Leitch.
Immediately, Van Der Drift went wheel-to-wheel with Leong through Turns 2 to 4, taking the inside line at Turn 5 and moving into second overall and second in the Pro-Am class.
Brown capitalised on Leong’s error, overtaking him on the inside of Turn 6 to move into third overall and first in the Pro class. Leong’s position dropped from first to fourth within six corners—a dramatic start that set the tone for the race.
By lap two, Leitch held a 2.5-second lead over Van Der Drift, who Brown closely monitored in third. By lap three, Leitch had extended his lead to 4.4 seconds after setting the fastest lap of the race.
Harith Zairel Oh/Aaron Lim were leading the Am class in ninth overall, while Kingsford remained in close contention in Pro-Am. By lap eight, with the pit window approaching, Leitch maintained a 7.7-second lead over Van Der Drift, while Brown had built a 6-second lead in Pro.
As the mandatory pit window opened, both Kiwi drivers executed their stops. Leitch handed over to Song, while Van Der Drift handed the car to Kingsford. Brown pitted simultaneously.
Upon rejoining, Song held a 4.6-second advantage in the lead, with Kingsford now 12 seconds ahead of Brown in third.
The pit cycles set up a tense mid-race battle. Song initially retained the lead but was soon pressured from multiple directions.
On lap 14, the safety car was deployed due to a mechanical failure for Eng Peng Goh/Sangho Kim (#17 Lamborghini), which had come to a stop in the grass at Turn 3. This neutralised the gaps and bunched the field, setting the stage for a final sprint.
At the restart with seven minutes remaining, Song made a strong jump but was quickly overtaken by Brown, Kingsford, Denning, and Carde. Song fell from first to fifth overall within corners and eventually dropped to ninth after being shuffled back by competitive Pro and Pro-Am drivers, finishing 13th overall and seventh in Pro-Am.
Meanwhile, Kingsford defended expertly for Van Der Drift, maintaining pace and position against attacks from Pro drivers. Brown used the restart to take the lead, while Denning and Leong navigated their way through traffic.
Leong recovered positions to finish second overall and second in the Pro class. Azman/Carde secured the Pro class podium in third overall.
Van Der Drift/Kingsford secured a podium finish, taking third overall and victory in Pro-Am, demonstrating tactical mastery and consistency over the two stints. Zhou/Fullwood finished second in Pro-Am and fifth overall, while Zhiwei Lu/Kang Ling completed the Pro-Am podium.
In the Am class, Suttiluck Buncharoen (#78 True Vision Motorsports Thailand Lamborghini) claimed the win, finishing 14th overall. Umar/Dypo finished second (15th overall), and Zairel Oh/Lim completed the podium (16th overall).
Van Der Drift reflected on the weekend:
“It was awesome to rock up to round 5 of the Super Trofeo Asia Championship and dominate with Todd. For me, it’s just over a year since I last raced in this series, and it was Todd’s first attempt.
“He didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend, and together we were the strongest Pro-Am combination out there. Thanks to the team and Todd for making this happen—it was an enjoyable weekend, that’s for sure.”
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series now takes a one-month break before its final round on November 6-7 at Misano World Circuit in Italy.
Header Image: Chris Van Der Drift (Facebook)
