Kiwi racers Brendon Leitch and Chris Van Der Drift delivered standout performances in Misano, Italy, over the weekend, impressing in the final rounds of both the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe and Asia championships ahead of the World Finals.
Europe Race 1:
Leitch’s co-driver, Nicolas Stati, started Race 1 from third on the grid, though the opening laps went largely unseen due to broadcast issues. In the first minute, Stati slipped to fourth, and while working to close the gap to the cars ahead, he came under pressure from behind and was pushed back further to sixth.
The race briefly threatened a safety car when Renaud Kuppens suffered a tyre failure and spun off the track. However, with his car in a recoverable position, racing continued under green.
Twenty minutes into the race, the No. 70 crew opted for an early pit stop. Stati handed the car over to Leitch after holding sixth for most of the stint, giving the Kiwi clean air to work with and an opportunity to claw back track position.
Once the rest of the field cycled through their stops, Leitch emerged in fifth, closing rapidly on Patrik Fraboni. With warmer tyres and strong pace, he cleared the Italian one lap after Fraboni exited the pits, moving into fourth and placing himself within range of the podium fight.
From there, the charge began. Inside the final 12 minutes, Leitch picked off the remaining frontrunners with confident, decisive moves, closing down the race leader – the No. 6 car, which had controlled proceedings from pole.
Once in clear air, Leitch didn’t look back. He built a commanding advantage, crossing the line with a six-second lead to secure a standout victory.
Europe Race 2:
Leitch’s co-driver, Nicolas Stati, started Race 1 from third on the grid, although the opening moments went largely unseen due to broadcast issues. Within the first minute, Stati slipped to fourth and, while working to close the gap to the cars ahead, came under pressure and dropped further to sixth.
A potential safety car was avoided when Renaud Kuppens suffered a tyre failure and spun off the circuit, with his car ending up in a recoverable position.
Twenty minutes into the race, the No. 70 crew opted for an early pit stop. Stati handed over to Leitch after maintaining sixth for most of his stint, giving the Kiwi clean air and a chance to regain time.
Once the field completed their pit cycles, Leitch emerged in fifth and immediately closed on Patrik Fraboni. With warmer tyres and strong pace, he passed the Italian one lap after Fraboni exited the pits, moving into fourth and putting himself within reach of the podium.
The charge continued in the final 12 minutes. Leitch methodically chased down and overtook the frontrunners, including the No. 6 car that had led from pole, to take control of the race.
Once in the lead, Leitch continued to push, stretching the gap to six seconds by the chequered flag and sealing an impressive victory.
Asia Race 1:
In the opening Super Trofeo Asia race, Kiwi drivers Chris Van Der Drift and Brendon Leitch began the day from different parts of the grid. Van Der Drift’s co-driver, Todd Kingsford, qualified seventh, while Leitch’s co-driver, Jiajun Song, lined up 14th overall.
Song made the stronger opening, climbing four places on the first lap to move into tenth. Kingsford, meanwhile, slipped back to ninth. Song held his position for the next ten minutes before a close on-track battle saw Umar Abdullah get past, pushing Song just outside the top ten.
Once the pit window opened with 30 minutes remaining, both cars pitted early to hand over to the Kiwi drivers. The strategy paid off. Van Der Drift gained two spots and returned to the track in seventh, while Leitch rejoined inside the top ten.
With tyres up to temperature, Van Der Drift began to move forward. He overtook Qikuan Cao 203 to climb into sixth, then cleared another rival shortly after to run fifth overall and second in class. Leitch also made progress, passing Cao in the final ten minutes.
Van Der Drift then claimed the Pro-Am class lead by moving ahead of Lee, while Leitch launched a late charge. In the final laps, Leitch overtook three cars in quick succession, climbing to sixth overall and into a strong position for a Pro-Am podium.
The race took a dramatic turn on the final lap when Leitch suffered a tyre failure, forcing him out after a superb recovery drive. Van Der Drift went on to secure a Pro-Am class victory and third overall, delivering a standout result for the Kiwi.
Asia Race 2:
Van Der Drift secured pole position for the final race of the season, with Leitch qualifying alongside him in second, placing both Kiwis on the front row.
At the start, Jacob Riegel made an early attempt to challenge, drawing alongside Van Der Drift into the first corner, but he was unable to complete the move and slotted back in behind.
Leitch launched strongly off the line, carrying momentum around the outside as Van Der Drift defended Riegel. With the space to sweep through, Leitch completed the move and took the lead.
Further back in the pack, both Lu and Abdullah were caught in contact through the opening corners, each being spun around before being collected again by cars arriving behind them. The damage forced both to retire, bringing out the safety car.
On the restart, Leitch and Van Der Drift immediately broke clear as those behind became occupied with their own battles. The Kiwis opened a two-second margin almost instantly, and their pace continued to build. Within laps, they had stretched the gap to third place to eight seconds, while the fight for the lead remained close, with less than a second between them.
As Van Der Drift began increasing the pressure on Leitch, the race took a turn. Leitch spun while defending, losing the lead. The earlier advantage they had built meant Leitch was able to rejoin in second without falling into the chasing pack.
At the pit window, both drivers switched to their co-drivers. Song emerged from the stops in the race lead, while Kingsford dropped to fifth after serving a ten-second penalty given for Van Der Drift’s role in Leitch’s earlier spin.
Song came under pressure from the Pro-class runners and was passed by Jonathan Cecotto and Alex Denning, dropping him to third overall, while Kingsford also slipped back to eighth. As the stint continued, the Pro cars worked forward, and Song gradually fell to seventh overall, still holding the Pro-Am lead ahead of Kingsford. That advantage disappeared a few laps later when Lee moved past both of them.
Inside the final five minutes, Song lost one more position and ultimately finished fourth in class and tenth overall. Kingsford, after serving the penalty, maintained steady pace to secure second in class and eighth overall.
Header Image: Leipert Motorsport
