Brendon Leitch’s 2025 campaign took a mid-season turn last weekend as the Southlander stepped away from Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America to make a high-profile return to Europe, joining the Italian GT Endurance Championship with Ceccato Racing.
Leitch and long-time co-driver Anthony McIntosh reunited behind the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3 Evo in the GT3-AM class, contesting Round 3 of the Endurance Cup at Imola as part of a two-car Ceccato Racing effort.
The decision followed a turbulent Super Trofeo run that started with race wins but unravelled at Watkins Glen, where McIntosh’s absence in one race and a penalty in another dashed their title hopes despite sitting just three points off the Pro-Am lead at the time.
For McIntosh, the Italian GT drive continued a busy international GT3 season after appearances at the 24 Hours of Daytona and a class podium at the 24 Hours of Spa.
The Kiwi–Australian pairing made a strong return in Italy, immediately showing pace in practice at Imola. They were 2nd overall and fastest in class in Free Practice 1, followed by 13th and 3rd in class in FP2, and 11th and 3rd in class in FP3.
Qualifying saw a consistent three-part effort from the duo. McIntosh opened with a 1:42.825 lap to go 15th overall and 3rd in class in Q1.
Leitch followed up with an impressive 1:41.495 to place 5th overall and fastest in class in Q2. McIntosh returned for Q3 with a 1:42.899, securing 15th overall and 5th in class.
Their combined time of 5:07.219 earned them 9th on the grid and pole position in the GT3-AM class.
McIntosh took the start of the 3-hour endurance race, holding position in the top ten through the early laps.
An early move on Alessio Deledda’s Lamborghini moved him up to eighth, as the field began to settle behind race leaders Lin Hodenius and Colin Caresani, both in Mercedes AMG GT3 machinery.
A safety car on lap 7 bunched the field after the #403 Ferrari came to a stop on track, and following the restart, McIntosh held strong before handing over to Leitch half an hour into the race.
Leitch rejoined in 19th overall and 5th in class but quickly made ground as pit strategies unfolded. The early stop proved effective, and once the pit cycle was complete, Leitch had climbed to 5th overall and was leading the GT3-AM class.
A multi-car incident brought out a second safety car just as Leitch had moved into third overall. On the restart, with just over two hours remaining, Leitch chased down the leading pack and managed to pass Fabio Rauer for second.
As the second round of pit stops began, Leitch continued to apply pressure before a full-course yellow was triggered when Gianluca Giraudi’s Mercedes became beached in the gravel.
Leitch pitted during the caution, handing back to McIntosh, who rejoined in second place behind Hodenius.
On the restart, McIntosh dropped back to third after a pass from Axcil Jefferies, and later lost another position to Mac Mikkel’s AF Corse Ferrari, falling to fourth overall but maintaining the GT3-AM class lead.
With 86 minutes to go, McIntosh pitted for a third time, then climbed back to fourth, overtaking Omar Jackson in the Haas RT Audi. He then handed back to Leitch with just over an hour remaining, the Kiwi rejoining in 14th place, though still on a strong strategy.
Once the final pit window closed, Leitch had cycled back to 4th overall and 1st in class. With 50 minutes left, he made a decisive move on Andrea Sorensen-Bogh in the #107 AF Corse Ferrari to take third place overall and consolidate the class lead.
The final driver change came with 25 minutes remaining, McIntosh jumping in for the final stint and rejoining in third, just over four seconds behind Michele Beretta in the #63 VSR Lamborghini.
McIntosh crossed the line third overall and first in GT3-AM, but a post-race penalty for the #63 crew, issued for a driver change outside the mandatory pit window, promoted the Leitch/McIntosh pairing to second overall and solidifying their class victory.
The outright win went to Hodenius and Jean-Luc D’Auria in the #61 Mercedes AMG GT3, finishing 30.262 seconds ahead. The #107 AF Corse Ferrari completed the overall podium and took honours in the GTC class.
Header Image: Brendon Leitch Facebook
