Kiwi driver Chris Van Der Drift capped off his Super Trofeo World Finals campaign with two podium finishes alongside co-driver Todd Kingsford in the No. 298 entry, delivering one of the standout performances of the weekend.
Brendon Leitch, partnered with Jiajun Song in the No. 289, endured a far tougher run, sidelined by a DNF and multiple penalties that limited his results despite showing competitive pace.
Race 1:
The opening race began on the back foot for both Kiwi pairings, with the co-drivers taking qualifying duties. Kingsford lined up 32nd in the No. 298, while Song started 36th in the No. 289.
A chaotic launch followed as the large field funneled into the opening corners. Song made an excellent getaway to gain two spots off the line, while Kingsford held position. Song was soon forced to relinquish those early gains and slipped back to 36th, but Kingsford found rhythm and pace, overtaking LIA to move into 31st.
Song’s race sadly came to an early end. Just five minutes in, he was forced to pit with a technical issue and ultimately retire, ending the No. 289’s challenge before Leitch could take over.
Kingsford, meanwhile, delivered a composed stint. He maintained pressure on the pack ahead and, crucially, avoided the wave of track limits penalties being issued across the field. As soon as the pit window opened, he dived in to hand the car to Van Der Drift.
From there, the momentum shifted dramatically.
Van Der Drift immediately carved through the traffic, making swift, decisive passes that went largely unseen on the broadcast. In just 10 minutes, he climbed seven positions to sit 24th overall.
His surge continued as he picked off Dimitri Enjalbert to move to sixth in the Pro-Am class, then quickly dispatched Tadas Karlinskas and Alessio Ruffini to take fourth in class and 19th overall, marking a net gain of 17 spots from the car’s starting position.
With 11 minutes remaining, Luchetti stopped on track, triggering a safety car and bunching the field for a final sprint to the flag.
On the restart, Van Der Drift passed Pro-class runner Jacob Riegel, closing in on the Pro-Am podium. Moments later, Colin Queen spun in the middle of the circuit, forcing multiple drivers wide and reshuffling the order. The Kiwi capitalised, rising to 16th overall.
Despite pushing hard to the end, he could not make further moves on track and crossed the line in 16th. Post-race penalties for several cars elevated the No. 298 pairing of Van Der Drift and Kingsford to a superb second in the Pro-Am class and 13th overall — a result earned through patience, pace, and a perfectly executed recovery drive.
Race 2:
The Kiwi drivers started Race 2 from strong positions, with Chris Van Der Drift qualifying 7th overall and 5th in class, and Brendon Leitch impressively taking 3rd overall and 2nd in class—later promoted to 2nd on the grid.
At the start, Frederik Schandorff rocketed into the lead, while Leitch defended second from the outside, fending off multiple challengers. Van Der Drift held his own in 7th amidst a tightly packed field.
The race was interrupted before the first lap was complete when Josef Knopp spun and was subsequently hit by another car, destroying his rear. Two other vehicles were damaged, but only Knopp’s car required recovery, bringing out the safety car. Both Kiwis maintained their positions on the restart as the front runners adopted a cautious approach to avoid another early collision.
At the front, Schandorff set the fastest lap to build a 1.5-second lead over Leitch, who held a similar gap to third. Van Der Drift worked to keep the cars behind at bay while staying within reach of the leaders.
As the fastest drivers on their teams, both Kiwis maximized their stints before pitting, hoping to maintain position ahead of their co-drivers. The second stint would see the quickest pro drivers on track, making it more challenging for pro-am racers to stay near the front.
Out of the pits, Kingsford lost ground to Colin Queen and Benedetto Strignano, who had warmer tyres from earlier stops. Song rejoined in 2nd but was quickly overtaken by Hug 211, getting caught behind a line of cars with better heat in their tyres.
Unable to maintain pace, Song dropped to 8th overall and 3rd in class, while Kingsford fell a couple of spots to 11th overall after being overtaken by pro drivers Nick Persing and Jacob Riegel.
With lap times around seven seconds slower than the drivers around him, Song lost two more positions to Nick Persing and Jacob Riegel, barely holding onto a top-10 spot.
Misfortune struck again as Song encountered an issue that dropped him four places, falling just behind Kingsford to 14th overall and 4th in class, while Kingsford claimed a potential pro-am provisional position from him.
Song’s struggles continued, and he slipped further to 22nd as he battled to keep the car competitive. Compounding the woes, both drivers received 5-second penalties, totaling 10 seconds added to their race time.
Kingsford also lost a couple of spots in the final laps, dropping to 14th overall, but he held onto 3rd in pro-am by a comfortable margin, securing a second podium of the weekend. After penalties were applied, he and Van Der Drift were promoted to 12th overall.
After a DNF in Race 1, Leitch and Song finished Race 2 in 27th, leaving them 10th in the pro-am standings for the finals.
Meanwhile, Van Der Drift and Kingsford’s consistent performances earned them two podium finishes across the weekend, allowing them to finish the Super Trofeo World Finals 3rd overall in class, tied on points with the second-place drivers.
Header Image: Lamborghini Squadra Corse
