Leitch wows with podium, class win on Italian GT debut in BMW

GT racing all-rounder Brendon Leitch once again showed off his versatility by finishing second overall and winning his class on debut in the Italian GT Championship.

At Imola, the home of the Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Leitch joined American Tony McIntosh in a Ceccato Racing BMW M4 GT3. There, they entered the Am class as part of a 40-car grid that featured some of the world’s best GT3 drivers.

On combined times, the pair qualified ninth for the three-hour race. Under the Am regulations, Leitch could only complete one hour of the race while McIntosh drove the other two. What followed was a near-perfect race. Leitch and McIntosh stayed out of trouble and progressive worked their way forward to the class lead and eventually second overall.

The day was highlighted by Leitch setting the fastest lap of any driver in the field, clocking a 1:41.559 around the famously fast and technical grand prix circuit.

It was an impressive run for the drivers, considering neither of them had ever driven the straight-six, turbocharged BMW before the weekend. It was also their first GT3 race together after several years competing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo across Europe and North America.

After the event, Leitch acknowledged the efforts of his Bronze co-driver McIntosh and the team Ceccato Racing.

“What a weekend. That was one of the most fun and enjoyable race meetings of my career to date,” said Leitch.

“Going into the weekend, there was a little bit of an unknown with the team and the car. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get up to speed with the BMW and the crew. It was really cool to meet racing legend Roberto Ravaglia too.

“The car was perfect, and it’s easy to see why this team has had the success it has had in close to a decade of running GT3 cars. It was honestly such a pleasure to drive. Imola is such a rewarding circuit when the car can ride the kerbs well and the BMW was faultless.

“I was super impressed by Tony. He had to do a lot of heavy lifting with two-thirds of the driving time, and once agai,n he showed why he’s among the top Bronze drivers in the world right now and a man in demand.”

The Italian GT Championship appearance marked Leitch’s first race in Europe since last year’s season-ending Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals where he raced with McIntosh and won Pro-Am.

Despite being based in Australia, Leitch said he hopes the return to Europe is not a one-off and will kickstart more opportunities.

“It was good to be back racing in Europe in a GT3 car again. I’ve won in a Lamborghini Huracan, an Audi R8 and now a BMW M4 so it’s good to add that to the CV,” said Leitch.

“Hopefully this kickstarts some more opportunities.”

Leitch’s next racing endeavour and 2026 racing plans will be announced in due course.