Kiwi racer Brendon Leitch’s busy season continues this weekend, with the Invercargill driver back on double duty at the Suzuka circuit in Japan in the Asian F3 Championship and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia.
It’s the first time at the iconic Japanese circuit for Leitch, who was recently confirmed as a factory Lamborghini junior driver. The Dayle ITM and Lamborghini Auckland-backed racer currently sites fourth in the Asian F3 Championship in his BlackArts Racing machine. Leitch and team mate Lim Keong Wee already have a podium to their name in their Lamborghini Huracán in the Pro-Am class of the Super Trofeo Asia series. They sit fourth in the points heading into this weekend’s second round.
“Double duty is never easy but it should be a good bit more straightforward this time around as I am now familiar with both cars,” he explained. “That gives you confidence and although I haven’t driven at Suzuka yet I’ve done plenty of mileage on the simulator. It’s a busy old track and that will suit me. Both cars should be a lot of fun around the track and I can’t wait to get into it.”
Leitch will have two more familiar names in the F3 series to contend with this weekend with Jackson Walls and Petr Ptacek joining the championship. Leitch raced both in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series earlier this season. He also has fast lady and circuit specialist Miki Koyama – taking time out from the W Series – as a team mate this weekend.
More experienced names will mean a tougher challenge, but Brendon is confident he’s ready to spring a surprise or two having been near the sharp end of the pace in the championship from the start.
“I’d like to think we can have a realistic shot at breaking the sequence of the top two cars of Ukyo Sasahara and Red Bull Junior driver Jack Doohan and getting in amongst the front end action. A win would be great but being fully competitive first will take care of that.
“Myself and my team mate made steady progress in the Lamborghini at the first round and we’ll be aiming to continue that progress this weekend. We’ll be looking for a decent overall position in the race and a class win. It’s my first weekend racing as a factory driver but I’m just going to push as hard as I can, which is always the way I approach race weekends. I’m not feeling any extra pressure and all I can do is my best. The rest will take care of itself.”
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