Leitch and Stati Take Lamborghini World Finals Title at Monza

Brendon Leitch and Nicolas Stati turned a ninth-place starting position into the decisive result of the Lamborghini World Finals at Monza. Their Race 2 victory for Leipert Motorsport secured the Pro title, while Bronislav Formanek and Anthony Pretorius added the Pro-Am crown to their European class title.

The turnaround came after Saturday’s Race 1 left Leitch and Stati as runners-up. In the 45-minute finale, Stati brought their car into the pit lane as soon as the driver-change window opened on lap six. Leitch took over early and made up ground while the leading cars remained close together. He eventually passed Pro-Am leader Todd Kingsford and built a winning margin of 6.297 seconds.

That result gave Leitch his second World Finals success. He won the Pro-Am title in 2024; this time, the New Zealander’s pace in the second stint helped deliver the Pro championship with Stati.

An early interruption reshaped the race

Chris van der Drift started from pole in the VSR entry and led the opening phase. The car represented Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, and van der Drift held the advantage before a heavy crash involving Al Morey and James Lawley at Curva Grande brought out the safety car.

Fifteen minutes of the scheduled 45 had passed by the time racing resumed. The restart quickly unsettled two contenders at the first chicane. Elias De La Torre, who had advanced from 13th to eighth on the opening lap in his TR3 Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2, was hit by Jaden Conwright and sent to the back of the field.

Nick Persing was caught in trouble on the next lap. Running seventh in the No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing car he shared with Hampus Ericsson, last year’s winner, Persing was spun after contact from Pro-Am contender Wyatt Foster. Those incidents removed two cars from the immediate fight near the front and added pressure to the restart phase.

Leitch made the pit-window call count

Stati’s early stop gave Leitch a chance to attack while the leaders were still negotiating traffic and their own driver changes. As van der Drift handed the VSR car to Kingsford, Leitch had climbed to second. He then passed Kingsford to take the lead, turning the pair’s ninth-place grid spot into a clear win.

The timing of the changeover mattered: the team committed as soon as the window opened, and Leitch had enough time in his stint to work through the field. The source of the victory was not a late caution or a last-lap gamble, but the combination of an early stop, a strong second stint and clean progress past the Pro-Am leader.

Liam Sceats and Gustaw Wisniewski finished second in the No. 206 VSR car, giving the team another place near the front. The last podium position remained contested until the closing lap. Will Bamber, who had been second during the first portion of the race, got past Kingsford at the first chicane to claim third for XONINE. That finish was not enough to overturn Leitch and Stati’s title result.

Colin Queen followed Bamber through to fourth in the ANSA Motorsport entry. Tommi Gore had started that car 26th, making fourth a substantial recovery through the field. Lind, meanwhile, charged to fifth after taking over the TR3 car, but the late progress could not change the title outcome.

Pro-Am titles and a model change

Van der Drift and Kingsford finished sixth in the classification and took the Pro-Am race win. Formanek and Pretorius placed second in class for Micanek Motorsport, a result that was enough to secure the World title and add it to their European Pro-Am crown.

Race 2 also marked the final appearance of the Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 in the series. Lamborghini plans to replace it next season with the Temerario Super Trofeo. The change gives teams a new car to prepare for after a finale in which pit timing and driver-stint pace proved central to the championship fight.

For Leitch and Stati, the key takeaway is the scale of the recovery: they started ninth, stopped early in the available window and finished more than six seconds clear. The Pro-Am contest brought its own reward for Formanek and Pretorius, while the field now turns toward the Temerario as the next Super Trofeo chapter.

Photo: Lamborghini Squadra Corse

Results: Race 2