Sport + Motorsport
Invercargill motorsport fans have reason to celebrate after Brendon Leitch and co-driver Sergio Pires claimed their first GT World Challenge Australia victory at The Bend Motorsport Park over the weekend.
The breakthrough win came in just the third race of the season, marking several career firsts for the Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport duo competing in the Shannons SpeedSeries.
Pires secured his first-ever GT World Challenge Australia pole position in Saturday's Am qualifying, while Leitch backed up the effort with second place in Pro qualifying behind teammate Jayden Ojeda.
The pair controlled Saturday's opening race from start to finish. Pires led the initial stint in their #44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, holding off last year's Pro-Am champion Brad Schumacher before the Melbourne Performance Centre driver spun at Turn 9.
Leitch took over at the halfway mark and managed the gap to second-placed Team BRM Audi R8 drivers Thomas Randle and Mark Rosser, eventually taking the chequered flag by just under two seconds.
"Really good weekend. A lot of good firsts, especially for Sergio," said Leitch. "To see his performance improvement has been amazing and the upwards trajectory has been huge. The team did a really good job with preparing the car, setting it up, and making it insanely fast out of the gate to drive."
Sunday's second race proved more challenging. Their success from Saturday earned them an additional 15-second penalty during their pit stop, dropping them from second to seventh place despite strong early running.
A car setup change and a mistake through Turn 10 saw Pires briefly leave the track, forcing the team into conservation mode for the remainder of the race.
"I'm super proud of the weekend. We did a lot of firsts, so I'm happy with that," said Pires. "Big bounce back after the disappointment of Phillip Island. Super happy that we're climbing the ladder again and back in the title run."
The weekend's results have moved Leitch and Pires to within 15 points of series leaders Schumacher and Broc Feeney in the championship standings.
Leitch remains confident about their title prospects heading into the season's final rounds.
"The confidence there is massive knowing that this is our championship to lose," said Leitch. "We have to fight back to get to it but we have in my opinion the best line-up on the grid in the best team and the best car. It's ours to lose at the end of the year and we just need to keep chipping away."
Leitch will next compete in GT World Challenge Asia at Shanghai International Circuit on June 4-6, before the Australian series returns to Queensland Raceway on June 12-14.