Motorsport: Leitch leads Kiwi charge against internationals

Damon Leitch is contesting his fifth championship. Photo / Bruce Jenkins

The runners and riders for the 2015 season of the annual Toyota Racing Series are getting into race mode now the opening round at Ruapuna is only two weeks away. Four young Kiwi drivers; James Munro, brothers Brendon and Damon Leitch and James Conroy will do battle with drivers from as far afield as India, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the UK, Russia, America and Australia.

The list of young Kiwi drivers who have used the TRS category to great effect is impressive and include the likes of Porsche LMP1 factory driver Brendon Hartley, racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Porsche Supercup champion Earl Bamber, who has also been snapped up by the German manufacturer as a works GT driver, and Mitch Evans, who finished fourth in the GP2 series.

Richie Stanaway is another who is also a factory driver for Aston Martin in the WEC, Nick Cassidy, who raced in the FIA European Formula Three championship, and Shane Van Gisbergen and Daniel Gaunt who now compete successfully in V8 Supercars and the Porsche Carrera series respectively in Australia.

The current driver with the most experience in the category is 22-year-old Damon Leitch who is contesting his fifth championship. He has two third place series finishes over the past four years and is keen to end his 2015 series on the top spot.

"I haven't been getting too much seat time recently, but I do have quite a lot of experience racing single seaters in New Zealand," said Leitch. "You have just got to remember what you've learned in the past and make the most of any time you do have on the track. The main goal this year is to win the championship, and the New Zealand Grand Prix of course.

"I've only actually won one race but have had lots of seconds and thirds. So it'll be really good if we can push that little bit more and get the wins. We had a good, fast car last year and I hope we have one again this year."

The high regard with which the series is held overseas is evident by the 15 international drivers who are making the trip out to New Zealand for the five-weekend championship, which incorporates 15 races - more than some European series.

"It would be really good to have a lot more Kiwis in the series but the market for sponsorship is very tough at the moment.

"It's hard for a lot of drivers to be able to find the money to do the series and talent isn't always the thing that gets you to go racing anymore," said Leitch.

The young man from Invercargill uses his hometown advantage to good effect in the opening rounds at Ruapuna and Teretonga, and is normally well positioned to be among the leaders when the series moves north.

"One good thing about all the drivers coming here is I get to race against some of the best young drivers from overseas. In the past few years there's been a lot I've raced against, and beaten, who have done pretty well back in Europe."

To added extra interest to the series in 2015, Toyota Racing New Zealand recently launched its new TRS FT50 racecar and it's a big technological leap forward from the old, well-regarded FT40, which is now 10 years old.

"Nobody's had any time in the new cars and it'll level the field out a bit. It's good that the cars are new and a step up from the older ones and I think it'll be pretty good to race a modern car," said Leitch.

"It'll be interesting during the earlier rounds as some teams and drivers will come to grips with the new cars faster than others."