Brendon Leitch’s Leipert Motorsport squad will start as the first GTX-class car in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Dubai, which begins tonight at the Dubai Autodrome.
The team of Leitch, Don Yount, JJ Song, Takis, and Gerhard Watzinger, sharing a Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2, set an average time of 2:02.377 across their three qualifiers to put nearly nine-tenths on Team C MR’s Ginetta G56 GTX.
Graff Racing’s Rossa LM GT, whose lineup includes former F1 driver Nikita Mazepin, had provisionally topped the session but was penalised for an error in the driver running order after Mazepin took the first run, which was dedicated for AM drivers. The penalty relegates them to fifth in class.
Leipert Motorsport’s 2:02.377 average came thanks to a superb lap from Leitch, who set the fastest lap of any competitor in the GTX class with a 2:00.012, a time which, had both of his teammates replicated, put them 13th on the overall grid, amongst the GT3 entries.
Earl Bamber’s EBM Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO will start 21st overall and eighth in Pro/AM, with an average effort of 2:00.513. That was over 1.5 seconds behind Pro/AM pole-sitters Winward Racing, who collectively qualified their Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO at an average of 1:58.857, not only topping their class but also putting them on the front row overall.
Pure Rxcing qualified a Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) on outright pole, over half a second clear of Winward Racing at 1:58.353.
The 24 Hours of Dubai, Round 1 of the 24 Hour Series Middle East Trophy, begins at 10.00 pm NZST on Saturday and will be streamed free online.
Header Image: Leipert Motorsport
