A new track will present a new challenge for Brendon Leitch and his co-driver JJ Song as GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS moves to Mandalika.
This year is just the second time GT World Challenge Asia has visited Indonesia’s Mandalika International Circuit, which has hosted MotoGP for the Grand Prix of Indonesia since 2022.
Leitch hopes that the relative inexperience of his rivals will go some way to levelling the playing field at the 4.3-kilometre track on the island of Lombok, near Bali.
Leitch and Song made their first GT World Challenge Asia start together at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit in April, where they finished eighth in Pro-Am and 16th overall in the first race before improving to sixth in class and 11th overall in the second race.
“We made a solid start to the season in Malaysia, considering we spent a lot of the weekend learning. That was especially true for JJ, given he didn’t get to test the car before Sepang,” said Leitch.
“The results may not look spectacular but JJ made some massive improvements in his own driving and we have a much better understanding of the car, what its strengths are, how it compares to other GT3 cars, and where we can improve as a whole.
“To be among the top three Ferrari 296 GT3 entries is pretty impressive relative to some of the more experienced driver line-ups and teams, so we are happy all things considered. Still, I am very keen to be standing on that podium as soon as possible.”
Neither Leitch nor Song have driven at Mandalika previously. The circuit was opened in 2022 and joined the GT World Challenge Asia calendar only last year.
Although it was developed primarily for motorcycle racing, the FIA Grade 3 track is popular for car racing.
“JJ and I have been doing a lot of laps on the simulator in the lead-up to the race weekend to get a rough idea of what we’re in for,” said Leitch.
“Because it was made for MotoGP, there are a lot of fast corners that flow into each other. It’s a big momentum track, so any little mistake through those esses will have consequences for the corners that follow.
“It’s going to be the first time for us and for a few other drivers too. I know that I can get up to speed quickly, so for me it’s just about helping JJ learn a new track and have confidence in himself.”
Leitch and Song proved to be popular additions to the grid in their Buzz Lightyear-themed Ferrari 296 GT3, which attracted a ton of fanfare at the track and online.
Several videos of their iridescent livery went viral over the course of the season opener, with tens of thousands of likes and views on social media platform TikTok.
“If nothing else, we will have the best-looking car on the grid,” Leitch laughed.
“The number of people wanting to have their photo taken with the car was crazy at Sepang, and the online reaction has been pretty cool to see.”
GT World Challenge Asia gets underway on Friday, May 1 with practice and pre-qualifying. Two qualifying sessions on Saturday will set the grid for the races on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
Race 1 gets underway at 1:30pm local time (6:30pm NZST). Race 2 is scheduled for 11:30am local time (4:30pm NZST).
Header Image: Supplied
