Southland’s Brendon Leitch will again be on double duties this weekend in Belgium as he and his Leipert Motorsport Team tackle both the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and the next round of the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe (one-make) series.
“Absolutely excited and can’t wait,” said Leitch. “I’m itching to get in the car and am definitely ready for the biggest GT3 race in the world.”
It’s the 75th edition of the 24 Hours of Spa, first run in 1924 and continuously since 1964 on the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in the picturesque Ardenne region, adopting GT rules in 2001 and establishing itself as a key fixture on the international motorsport calendar for GT3 cars.
“It’s a difficult circuit, very ‘old-school’ but very cool, requiring real commitment and no mistakes. There is real strength in the field and depth of competition across the whole weekend, and there are always a huge number of spectators. It’s the biggest European GT race, so should be pretty neat to be involved.”
Leitch and teammates Gerhard Watzinger (USA), Kerong Li (CHN) and JF Brunot (USA) will pilot the #70 CrowdStrike Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 competing in the Pro-Am class.
“We will know after Thursday’s qualifying sessions how quick we are this year,” said Leitch. “I think the 12-Hour race we did here earlier in the season has really helped and I am confident that the car will be quick.”
Qualifying for the 24 Hours of Spa takes place on Thursday, starting 30 minutes before sunset at 21:20 (Friday 7.20 am NZ time), and follows the Fanatec GT Europe Endurance Cup format, with four 15-minute sessions and the average time across a team’s four drivers establishing the grid order. The fastest 20 book a place in Friday’s Super Pole shootout, while positions 21 through 71 are locked in, barring any penalties.
“A key to success in this race will be our ability to keep focus for such a long time with no mistakes. That is the challenge. You cannot afford that extra pitstop or any other lost time. Each driver’s stint needs to empty the fuel cell to make sure of that.
“As the cars today are so good, it is essentially a 24-hour sprint race. You don’t have to look after the car as in the past and it can be pushed the whole time. Now it is about pure performance and extracting speed over the 24 hours. The field is made up entirely of GT3 cars under the same BoP (balance of performance), so it will be driver ability that will make the difference.”
Leitch is also competing in the latest round of the 2023 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Championship with two 50-minute races taking place on Friday and Saturday. Driving the Dayle ITM-backed #86 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, he currently sits third overall after two podium placings at the opening round in France earlier in June.
“I’m confident that we will have even more speed than in France,” commented Leitch. “We recently held a successful test and made some adjustments. I’ve done a lot of miles around Spa, so again, confident ahead of racing later this week.”
Thursday will be busy for Leitch with four GT3 and three Super Trofeo sessions. Racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe gets underway on Friday 16:35 (local time) with a second 50-minute race on Saturday morning at 10:35 while the 24-Hours of Spa is set to go at 16:30 on Saturday afternoon.
Keep an eye out for Friday morning’s Motorsport Diary for viewing times and information on how you can watch.
Words & Images: Supplied
