Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires have soared to the top of the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS standings after claiming their second win of the season on Sunday morning.
Behind the wheel of the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing By Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, the win came about thanks to Leitch’s incredible first stint and Pires’ mature drive to the chequered flag.
While the winning duo produced a faultless performance, behind them there was plenty of drama for the minor podium positions as taking out second place was Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks in the #88 Team BRM / Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS EVO II, while ARGT’s Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte rounded out the podium in their #26 Ferrari 296 GT3.
With Leitch starting on the front row alongside SRO GT Academy driver and Qualifying 1 pole sitter Oscar Targett, the New Zealander got off to a flying start and wrestled his way into the lead on the opening corner.
There was plenty going on during the opening lap, from Alex Peroni leapfrogging his way up the order from last to eighth, Will Davison dropping to seventh after a poor start in the #181 OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and Valentino Astuti going off track in the #2 Trading Garage Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II.
However, all eyes were on the front of the field as Leitch raced away from the pack, leaving the #56 Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Targett to fend off challenges from the #1 Kelso Electrical Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Broc Feeney and the #88 Audi of Wood.
Once the race settled, it was a fairly straightforward run from the Pro drivers as Leitch’s perfect drive saw him build a lead of almost eight seconds by the time he came into the pits to hand the car over to Pires.
The lead was enough to keep the #44 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the lead despite their success penalty from yesterday’s podium, with Schutte coming out in second place by less than a second.
The pit stop window then saw drama of its own when the door of the #1 Audi failed to open when Feeney handed the car over to co-driver Brad Schumacher - the mechanical issue seeing the car tumble down the order - their temporary fix proving ill-fated.
Ahead of them, Pires seemed unfazed by Schutte’s presence behind him as he replicated Leitch’s performance and managed to build some breathing space between the #44 Mercedes-AMG and the #26 Ferrari.
That gap was made even bigger when Schutte ended up slightly going off track and onto the grass, allowing Brooks to cruise by him into second place.
The top three then remained unchanged for the rest of the race as Pires enjoyed a one-second victory over Brooks, who himself beat Schutte by one second.
There was a much bigger gap between the top three and the rest of the field as the #66 Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti finished fourth a further nine seconds off, while Peroni and co-driver Mark Rosser steered the #268 Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II to fifth a further four seconds behind.
Targett and co-driver Justin Tigani ended up sixth for the race in their #56 Mercedes-AMG, while Astuti and teammate Darren Currie ended up seventh - the pair edging out Davison and Renee Gracie in their #181 Ferrari 296 GT3 by four tenths of a second.
Wall Racing’s Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz in the #93 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO II ended up ninth again, while the #71 AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R of Luke Youlden and Nathan Halstead rounded out the top 10.
The duo also enjoyed victory in the Trophy class as a result of their top 10 finish, comfortably beating Paul Stokell and Gary Higgon in the #24 KFC Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II by 10 seconds, while Cameron Rees rounded out the class podium in the #14 Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.
The #23 Zagame Autosport Ferrari 296 GT3 of Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell was also forced into the pits due to an incident in the opening laps - the pair eventually getting back out on track, but finishing behind the #1 Audi of Feeney and Schumacher.
As a result of Feeney and Schumacher’s challenging result, the pair have now fallen behind Leitch and Pires, who have a nine-point advantage at the top of the standings.
With GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS now reaching the halfway point, the series will next be on track next month with a visit to Hidden Valley Raceway on 24-26 April as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.