Brendon Leitch and co-driver Anthony McIntosh are just one race away from retaking the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro-Am points lead.
The Wayne Taylor Racing pair head to Watkins Glen where they’ll support the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.
Leitch and McIntosh sit second in the Pro-Am standings, just three points behind Kaizen Autosport duo Darius Trinka and Tadas Karlinskas.
While American McIntosh has a wealth of experience at Watkins Glen, the Kiwi has never raced at the former United States Grand Prix venue, which hosted Formula 1 from 1961 to 1980.
Before the upcoming Lamborghini Super Trofeo Round, Leitch completed a handful of laps in the wet during a test.
“It’s a lot like Phillip Island, but lined with walls. It’s one of the fastest and wildest circuits anywhere in the world,” said Leitch.
“The first turn is basically a 90-degree right-hander but because of all the camber it’s quite fast and really is critical to setting up your lap. Track limits are really not a thing here so you can use all the road to go as fast as possible into the uphill esses.
“That’s one of the most hair-raising sequence of turns anywhere I’ve driven because of how narrow it is with the wall as well as the blind crest as you go up the hill. You can really stretch your legs down the straight before the Inner Loop, which really tests your bravery.
“It’s a proper momentum track and one that really rewards commitment. It’s really just a big go kart track. You’ve got to flow the car around the course because there’s nowhere on the track where you’re going that slow. Every corner is so, so fast.”
Letich and McIntosh have two wins to their name this year alongside two DNFs at Sebring and Laguna Seca. If not for the Sebring crash, they would have a handy lead.
With four rounds in the United States to go before the World Finals, Leitch said they know they have the outright speed.
“We’re definitely the quickest team out there. Wayne Taylor Racing has done a fantastic job prepping all the cars and you can see the results, they speak for themselves. We’re the best across all the classes,” Leitch explained.
“We were first in the first practice and second in the second practice, so that bodes well for the rest of the weekend. There’s a bit of bad weather around, so qualifying will be important to stay out of trouble.”
Race 1 of the weekend gets underway at 5pm on Friday (Saturday, 7am NZST). Race 2 is scheduled for 4:10pm on Saturday (Sunday, 8:10am NZST). Both races will be live-streamed on the Lamborghini Squadra Corse YouTube channel.
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