Brendon Leitch hopes he can flip his fortunes when he returns to GT World Challenge Australia at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park this weekend.
Leitch and Geyer Valmont Racing co-driver Sergio Pires were poised to take second place in the second race of the season at Phillip Island until their No.44 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO was taken out by another competitor on the final lap.
Leitch and Pires walked away from the island without any silverware but were happy to know they had the speed to be outright contenders for victory. Still, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
A turbulent weekend for several of their key competitors means the Pro-Am series points lead isn’t too far out of reach, though Leitch knows being behind the eight-ball early in the season is not a recipe for success.
As it stands, Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher lead the standings for Melbourne Performance Centre while Leitch and Pires are 17 points in arrears. If not for the crash, the trans-Tasman duo would have led the standings.
“I’m glad to have been so busy the last few weeks, to be honest. It’s not really allowed me much time to stew on what happened at Phillip Island,” said Leitch.
“I know Sergio is massively motivated after what happened last time out. The car ride back to Melbourne airport was a bit quiet.
“Heading to The Bend, standing on the podium is the bare minimum for us, really. We proved that we’re fast enough. Sergio and I were the only ones of the three Tigani Mercedes that didn’t get a podium at Phillip Island, and through no fault of our own.”
Neither Leitch nor Pires raced at The Bend in 2025, meaning it will be the first time either driver has raced on the International layout.
GT World Challenge Australia used the shorter West layout in 2024, which shortcuts the technical and challenging second sector.
“This weekend we’re back on the International configuration, which I’m really looking forward to racing on,” said Leitch.
“The last time I was here was on the West course, which was good but is probably more suited to Supercars than GT cars. The International layout has a lot of corners that really suit GT cars, where you can really lean on the downforce.
“The triple-apex right-hander in Sector 2 really reminds me of Istanbul in Turkey, but in reverse. It’s a tricky sequence that really rewards precision and commitment.
“Of course, you can take it easy through there and hit all the apexes, but you can make up a lot of time if you hustle hard and use all the road.
“Sergio and I both tested at The Bend recently, so it’s not entirely uncharted territory.”
Round 2 of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park takes place on May 8-10.
Leitch and Pires will be on track across all three days at Tailem Bend, beginning with practice on Friday. The pair will each get to qualify the car on Saturday morning.
Header Image: Supplied
