Kiwi driver Brendon Leitch will head to Malaysia next week having confirmed his involvement in the 2019 F3 Asian Championship, driving for BlackArts Racing.
Leitch will head to Malaysia in the first week of April to race at Sepang International Circuit on the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia support card. The 23-year-old will drive with Hong Kong-based outfit BlackArts Racing in a team that will also feature Thomas Lüdi (Switzerland) and Tom Beckhäuser (Czech Republic).
Leitch’s drive followed a two day test when he was drafted in by BlackArts to help set up cars and aid in driver training. During the two day test he eclipsed the series qualifying lap record.
“It was an awesome opportunity on an amazing track in a pretty quick car. It’s probably the fastest car I’ve ever driven,” explained Leitch. “It was quite cool because it was challenging to drive and required a different driving style. We were doing 197 kph around Turn 5 and Turn 6, which is a full commitment part of the track.
“It went really well, we went under the record by four tenths of a second. I think that was enough to keep them happy and they came back to me and we started talking about getting me in the seat for next weekend.”
When he’s not racing Leitch is either at home in Invercargill working at his father’s workshop Leitch Motorsport and Restorations, or around the country with Downforce Auto Events and Training. The drive is the next step towards his long-term goal of becoming a full-time professional racing driver.
“At the moment I’m trying to put as much focus as I can into finding a career pathway,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome to be picked out of a big group of people. It’s a great opportunity and Asia is a great place to start. There’s a huge market there for a lot of different cars. There have been a lot of successful Kiwi drivers that have made their way through Asia like Earl Bamber, Will Bamber and Jono Lester, so it’s pretty cool to get on the bandwagon with them.”
Team Principal of BlackArts Racing, Bill O’Brien said; “We are very excited to have Brendon in our driver line-up. He was out in Sepang testing with us two weeks ago and he was very impressive. We are really looking forward to next weekend and wish Brendon the best of luck.”
Leitch’s race weekend will start early with a four-day pre-weekend schedule of testing at the circuit before official practice and qualifying on Friday. Three half-hour races are scheduled across Saturday and Sunday. He’ll be once again supported by long-time backers Dayle ITM and will carry sponsorship from San Francisco-based motorsport-inspired clothing outlet OLOI, Inc.
“Obviously the team have put a lot of faith behind me to get me in one of these cars. I’m really thankful for the opportunity so I’ll be trying to get the best results for them – hopefully starting with a pole position on Friday afternoon. We’re looking really positive pace wise.”
The Formula 3 Asian Championship is part of the burgeoning Regional Formula 3 landscape and is one step below the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
The five-round, 15-race season kicks off at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit, former host to the country’s F1 Grand Prix and current MotoGP venue, from April 6-7. In May, the series travels to Thailand’s acclaimed Buriram International Circuit, before making its debut in Japan at the iconic Suzuka Circuit in June. The season closes with two triple-header rounds at China’s Shanghai International Circuit on September 7-8 and 27-28.
Already 13 drivers are confirmed with some additional entries expected for the opening round. The field includes some new faces, such as 16-year-old Red Bull Junior Team driver Jack Doohan who took two podium finishes in three races on his Asian Winter Series debut earlier this year. The son of five-time 500cc motorcycle grand prix world champion Mick, Doohan is confirmed with reigning team champions Dragon Hitech GP.
Other newcomers include Ireland’s Jordan Dempsey at Pinnacle Motorsport, the newly-crowned China F4 champion joining 16-year-old Australian Thomas Smith on the team. Japan’s Yu Kanamaru, 2011 CIK-FIA Karting World Champion and 5th in the Japanese F3 Championship last season, makes his series debut with B-Max Racing Team.
Having had his first taste of the Tatuus F3 T-318 in the Asian Winter Series, winning the final round is sensational style, Sri Lankan Eshan Pieris makes his F3 Asian Championship debut with Absolute Racing. Joining him on the team is China’s Daniel Cao, 2018 Asian Formula Renault Pro Class Champion and 2017/18 F4 South East Asia Champion. The 17-year-old contested the opening round of the F3 Asian Championship last season.
Amongst the drivers returning for a second season are Yu Kuai of Zen Motorsport, India’s Akash Gowda of M-Sport Asia and Czech youngster Tom Beckhäuser, who is back with BlackArts Racing having contested the final three races of the 2018 season at Sepang.
Confirmed so far in the Masters class are winner of the Asian Winter Series Masters championship Tairoku Yamaguchi, who joins Kanamaru at B-Max Racing Team, and BlackArts Racing’s Thomas Luedi, who contested six races last season. Hong Kong’s Paul Wong, the reigning Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Lamborghini Cup champion, makes his debut in the series in the Masters category.
All drivers will compete in the Tatuus F3 T-318, as the single-chassis, single-engine era of Formula 3 continues to strengthen in Asia. The Autotecnica-built engine – the ATM AR-F3R – is a 270hp, four-cylinder turbocharged Alfa Romeo 1750 TBi, with a total capacity of 1742cc. This is housed in the Tatuus F3 chassis which features a swathe of safety elements including side impact panels, front and rear carbon impact structures, wheel tethers, an extractable seat, plus the new Halo system.
Details of the full entry for Round 1 of the F3 Asian Championship Certified by FIA will be released shortly.
2019 F3 ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP CERTIFIED BY FIA PROVISIONAL CALENDAR
Date Venue Event
April 6-7 Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, Round 1 (Races 1-3)
May 11-12 Buriram International Circuit, Thailand, Round 2 (Races 4-6)
June 22-23 Suzuka Circuit, Japan, Round 3 (Races 7-9)
Sep 7-8 Shanghai International Circuit, China, Round 4 (Races 10-12)
Sep 27-28 Shanghai International Circuit, China, Round 5 (Races 13-15)
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