Kiwi drivers Brendon Leitch and Ayrton Hodson had mixed fortunes at Mount Panorama this weekend, with Leitch securing a top-ten finish on his Super2 Series debut while Hodson’s weekend ended with a DNF following a crash in Race 2.
Leitch joined Team Kiwi Racing as an invitational driver for the Bathurst round, marking his first appearance in a Supercar and his first outing in a touring car championship. Meanwhile, Hodson returned to the Mountain with Matt Stone Racing as part of his full-time Super2 campaign.
Both Kiwis had some pace to find during Thursday’s opening practice session, with Hodson finishing 17th and Leitch just behind in 18th.
Leitch improved to 16th in Practice 2, while Hodson’s session ended early after crashing coming down the Mountain. Having completed just four laps, the Kiwi was left 18th, with Matt Stone Racing facing a race against time to repair the car ahead of Friday’s qualifying sessions.
The team got Hodson back on track, and he qualified 16th for Race 1 and 15th for Race 2. Leitch was slightly further up the order for the opening race, qualifying 14th, before securing 17th for the second encounter.
Saturday’s opening race started chaotically, with Tickford Racing teammates Reuben Goodall and Ben Gomersall colliding at Hell Corner. Goodall suffered significant damage, while Gomersall ended up stranded in the gravel trap, bringing out an early safety car.
Leitch made a strong getaway, jumping from 14th to eighth by the second corner, while Hodson struggled slightly off the line but managed to move up to 14th before the safety car was deployed.
At the restart, Leitch held his position despite pressure from Johnothan Webb and Cody Burcher, while Hodson began making progress through the field.
With 15 minutes remaining, Hodson had climbed to 12th, although his charge was interrupted after contact with Ryan Tomsett through The Chase dropped him back to 13th.
Leitch also came under pressure, eventually losing a position to Webb but managing to keep Burcher behind.
Further drama unfolded when Matt Hillyer was spun at Forrest’s Elbow following contact with Webb, bringing out another safety car and allowing both Kiwis to gain a position.
The race resumed with five minutes remaining, with Leitch running tenth and Hodson 12th. Leitch briefly challenged for ninth before coming under pressure himself, while Hodson lost a position to Elliot Cleary in the closing stages.
Webb was later handed a time penalty for his involvement in Hillyer’s incident, promoting Hodson to 12th in the final classification.
Leitch finished tenth on his Super2 debut, gaining four positions from his starting spot, while Hodson recovered from his earlier practice crash to finish four places higher than he started.
Championship leader Lochie Dalton took the race victory ahead of Bailey Sweeny and Brad Vaughan.
However, Race 2 was a different story for the Kiwi pair.
Leitch finished 16th, while Hodson’s race came to an end after just four laps following a series of incidents that left his car too damaged to continue.
Hodson had initially made contact with Alice Buckley, leaving him with bent steering that he was attempting to manage.
Things then went from bad to worse when Tommy Smith ran wide at The Chase, forcing Hodson to take evasive action.
In trying to avoid Smith, Hodson ran wide onto the loose surface before ending up on the grass and hitting the wall. The impact caused further steering damage, bringing his race and Bathurst weekend to an early end.
It was a tough weekend for Hodson, who had already faced a major setback following his crash in Thursday’s practice session.
For Leitch, the weekend was all about learning, with the Kiwi getting his first experience of racing a Gen2 Supercar.
While the car and championship were new to him, Leitch was already familiar with Mount Panorama, having claimed pole position on his Bathurst debut in GT World Challenge Australia in 2024. He has also competed in the Bathurst 12 Hour twice.
Leitch’s first taste of the Gen2 Supercar came during an evaluation at Winton Raceway last month, giving him some valuable seat time before his Super2 debut.
The top-ten finish in Race 1 was a solid result for Leitch and Team Kiwi Racing, rounding out a weekend of learning for the Super2 newcomer.
For Hodson, it was a weekend of setbacks, with two crashes overshadowing his efforts as he continues his full-time campaign with Matt Stone Racing.
Header Image: Daniel Kelzke/Kelzke Optics
