Brendon Leitch wrapped up his successful Lamborghini Super Trofeo season with a podium against the world’s best at the World Finals at Vallelunga over the weekend.
The event also saw charging drives from Super Trofeo Asia champions Marco Giltrap and Chris van der Drift, who battled back from difficult qualifying results to threaten for the top ten.
The World Finals pitted the top Super Trofeo Asia, America and Europe drivers against each other, with the Pro and Pro-Am fields of all three series joining forces for a 44-strong grid.
Leitch qualified third for Race 1, falling 0.046 seconds short of a front-row start. The Leipert Motorsport driver jumped to second on Lap 4, behind only pole-sitter and Super Trofeo Europe rival Amaury Bonduel.
Being a solo driver, Leitch faced a 3-second longer pit stop, with the window opening at around the same point a Safety Car was called for contact further back in the pack.
Bonduel controlled proceedings until the chequered flag, while the Kiwi managed a late pass on Loris Cabirou to reclaim second.
Meanwhile, Giltrap and van der Drift battled from 29th on the grid to come home 17th overall and 14th in class.
Bonduel’s strong form continued in Race 2, where he led off the second row from the Pro pole. An early Safety Car prevented a breakaway, with Leitch remaining in the mix until the pit window opened.
The VSR Huracáns of Artem Petrov and Mattia Michelotto put Leitch under late pressure, preventing him from taking the challenge to Bonduel to threaten for overall honours.
Leitch came home fifth, with Bonduel’s third place seeing him take the World Finals title.
While the battle up front unfolded, van der Drift and Giltrap had worked to eleventh overall, from 13th on the grid, ultimately finishing tenth in class.
