Sport + Motorsport
Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires have jumped into the lead of the GT World Challenge Australia championship after a dominant weekend at Queensland Raceway.
The Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport pair finished third and first across the two 60-minute races at Ipswich, vaulting from fifth in the standings to the top of the table.
Leitch and Pires entered the third round trailing Melbourne Performance Racing drivers Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher by 15 points. They leave Queensland ahead by 12.
Pires qualified the #44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO third for Saturday's race, with Leitch securing second for Sunday. They finished Race 1 in third, just behind Tigani Motorsport teammates Oscar Targett and Justin Tigani.
With Feeney and Schumacher fourth, the deficit shrank to 12 points heading into Sunday.
Race 2 delivered the breakthrough. From the outside of row one, Leitch swept around Targett at turn one to take the lead. Despite a five-second success penalty at their pit stop, Leitch built enough gap to hand the car to Pires still in front.
Pires managed the lead through the second stint, finishing comfortably ahead of the Ryan Wood/Steve Brooks Team BRM Audi.
"Coming into the weekend we didn't anticipate getting the results that we got. We were just trying to come away with a good clean weekend and a good haul of points with the cards that we had been dealt," said Leitch.
"To come away with a third and a second in qualifying and then a third and first in the race was just exceptional. It's the best weekend in GT World Challenge Australia for either of us."
Leitch praised both race executions. "Race 1 on Saturday was perfectly executed from Sergio's side and then I was able to bring it home in third. Today, in Race 2, I was able to take the lead at the start with a very friendly manoeuvre around the outside of Oscar and then drive off into the distance and hand Sergio the lead. He did the rest and controlled the race until the chequered flag."
The win moves Leitch and Pires to 85 points. Tigani Motorsport teammates Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti sit second on 76 points, with Feeney and Schumacher third on 73.
Pires credited his co-driver and the team. "It was a pretty perfect weekend. To come home with a third and a first at a track that we thought wouldn't suit us is pretty amazing," said Pires.
"Super happy with how I drove all weekend. Brendon made it pretty easy for me, giving me the lead and a couple of mistakes behind me meant I wasn't under too much pressure and just had to bring it home."
"I'm super happy to be leading the championship halfway through. Couldn't ask for more. The Tigani Motorsport guys and girls have been amazing and it's a testament to their work that we can keep executing these kinds of results every weekend."
The series resumes at Hidden Valley Raceway for the Liqui-Moly GT Festival Darwin.