GT3

FANATEC GT World Challenge Endurance: Strong team performance remains unrewarded at 3h race in Hockenheim

5. September 2022

Leipert Motorsport entered the #27 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo in the large grid of 49 GT3 cars at the FANATEC GT World Challenge (GWTC) round at Hockenheim. The MOTUL-supported team from Wegberg put in a strong performance in practice and in the race. After two hours of racing, however, Leipert Motorsport with the driver trio Leitch/Tutumlu-Lopez/Owega had to retire the Lamborghini in the pits due to the consequences of a previous collision.

Good test sessions before the race

The Leipert regular driver Tyler Cooke (USA) was unable to travel, so Jusuf Owega (D) stepped in as a substitute driver at short notice to support Brendon Leitch (NZ) and Isaac Tutumlu-Lopez (ESP) on the traditional Baden race track. The race weekend began with a four-hour test session in which the three drivers performed well. The free practice session then sank in the floods of a huge cloudburst and brought no further insights.

Strong qualifying

In pre-qualifying, the Leipert trio placed with a lap time that was just one second above the top time. In the three-part qualifying, in which the starting position was determined from the average time of all three drivers, substitute driver Owega convinced with the 4th fastest time in the Silver Cup. In the end, the Leipert drivers placed P11 in the Silver Cup (P31 overall).

Great race start – not a happy ending

Leitch took the start and again showed his potential. In the course of only a few laps he improved his position up to the top 20. But then Brendon Leitch was hit on the rear by Valentino Rossi in a duel after Rossi missed his braking point. As a result, the Lamborghini #27 was turned around and lost 10 places. The subsequent recovery brought the Leipert Lamborghini back to 25th place by the time of the first pit stop. But after the first driver change, problems started as a consequence of the previous collision, in which the oil cooler was damaged, among other things. Therefore, after the second driver change and 66 race laps completed, the team decided to stop for safety reasons due to an increasing oil loss.

Managing Directors Marcel Leipert & Marc Poos:

“Our pace at the Hockenheimring was great. We are very happy with the team performance and the performance of our drivers. We also thank Jusuf Owega for stepping in at short notice and look forward to having Tyler Cooke back in the car in Barcelona. The early exit due to a previous collision is disappointing. The season has not gone to plan in terms of race results so far, although good results were within reach. We hope to put our run of bad luck behind us and celebrate a worthy end to the season in Barcelona.”

For the team from Wegberg, the race continues next weekend. At the 24h race in Barcelona (Spain, 9-11 September) Kerong Li (CH), Jean-Francois Brunot (USA), Gerhard Watzinger (USA), Gregg Gorski (USA) and Brendon Leitch (NZ) will be driving the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo in the GTX class, in which Leipert Motorsport leads the standings and wants to secure the championship title.