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Double duties for Brendon Leitch in fifth Lamborghini World Finals

7 November, 2025

Brendon Leitch will have six shots at victory at Misano when the Lamborghini Super Trofeo season comes to a close.
Leitch will finish his Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia season with China’s JJ Song and Leipert Motorsport in the Pro-Am class.
The New Zealander has also been drafted in for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe final with Australia’s Nicolas Stati in another Pro-Am entry by Leipert Motorsport.
The final rounds of the Asia and Europe series take place across November 6-7 before the Lamborghini World Finals on November 8-9.
The three regional series – Europe, Asia, and North America – finish their respective championships before combining grids for the World Finals.

This year marks the 12th edition of the World Finals and the fifth time Leitch has competed in them.

He returns in 2025 as last year’s Pro-Am class winner in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals, where he took victory with Anthony McIntosh at Jerez.
“The Lamborghini World Finals have traditionally been a happy hunting ground for me in the past,” said Leitch.
“With Leipert Motorsport, we’ve won a lot of trophies and probably punched above our weight quite a bit against some of the more well-known teams in GT racing.
“Last year was amazing with Tony, and this year I’m really hopeful we can replicate that with JJ and Nicolas.”
Leitch will split his duties on Thursday and Friday between Song and Stati before the World Finals where he and Song will race together.
Both Song and Stati are launching their respective careers. For Song, it’s his first year racing in Super Trofeo, while Stati is on the path towards IndyCar. Next year, Stati will set up to Indy NXT.
“JJ and I have really enjoyed this year together. We probably haven’t had the success we would have liked, but JJ can see the potential,” said Leitch.
“We’ve come close to getting a few wins. That’s where experience counts, and my job is really to coach JJ and develop him to a point where I can hand him the car and he can hold off some of the faster guys.
“Equally important is him being quick enough so that when the roles are reversed I can get us into a position to win by the end of the race. That’s the beauty of Pro-Am racing is that balancing act between the Pro and the Am.
“I’m also really looking forward to working with Nicolas. It’s crazy the trajectory he’s on at just 16 years old going to Indy NXT in 2026.
“I was really only just getting started in the Toyota Racing Series at that age and he’s already jumping into really powerful cars. He has got a lot of potential and the most valuable thing you can have in motorsport is seat time.”Race 1 of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia at Misano is scheduled for 11:25pm NZDT. Race 2 takes place on Saturday at 3:00am NZDT. Leitch and Song will be in the No.289 car.
Race 1 of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe gets underway on Friday at 3:10am NZDT. Race 2 is scheduled 12:00am NZDT on Saturday morning. Leitch and Stati will be in the No.70 car.
The Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals begin with qualifying on Sunday at 12:20am NZDT before Race 1 at 4:20am NZDT. Race 2 takes place on Monday at 2:20am NZDT.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Misano schedule
Race 1 – Thursday – 11:25pm NZDT
Race 2 – Saturday – 3:00am NZDT

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe Misano schedule
Race 1 – Friday – 3:10am NZDT
Race 2 – Friday – 12:00am NZDT

Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals Misano schedule
Qualifying – Sunday – 12:20am NZDT
Race 1 – Sunday – 4:20am NZDT
Race 2 – Monday – 2:20am NZDT

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”

Mitsubishi’s secret weapon

31 July, 2026

Ewen’s Starion is a little different and special. He saved this one – literally ‘found in a paddock’ — just in time, as he relates.
“Mine is a 1983 Starion. I’ve had it about five years. I first saw it in a paddock at Ryal Bush [north of Invercargill], and I went past it three times. The third time I went back and knocked at the door, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He rang up a year later, and put a price on it, which we accepted. Only thing wrong was the motor was totally dismantled.”
Ewen then set about getting the car back to its current state.
“It took me six months to find somebody suitable to refurbish it back then. Simon Bradley at Midas in Invercargill offered to do it and he did a great job on it. The head was badly damaged around the valves, and Simon said you could get generic cylinder heads now, so he installed one, and it cost $800. It’s made such a difference to the car. Mine is an intercooled, fuel-injected turbo model, fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a great car to drive too.”
Except for a small patch of surface rust, Ewen’s car was in surprisingly good condition despite its paddock life.