Leitch narrowly misses Formula Ford title
Invercargill driver Brendon Leitch has finished runner-up in the 2013 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship.
The seventeen-year-old finished second overall at the final round of the championship at the Taupo Motorsport Park this weekend, missing the title by just five points.
Leitch arrived at Taupo with a three point buffer after leading the series since the opening round in January. He qualified the EH Ball / ITM Stealth second fastest in Saturdays qualifying session and then had a great battle with championship rival James Munro of Christchurch in the opening race on Saturday afternoon. The pair had a huge dice and Leitch took the lead at one stage only to have a problem with the gearbox almost immediately which allowed Munro back into a lead that he held to the end. Leitch finished second but for the first time the championship lead had slipped away and he trailed Munro into Sundays final two races by five points.
Leitch collected another second place in the second race of the round and went into the final race of the championship needing to win with Munro in third place or worse. Leitch did his bit, crossing the line to win the race, but Munro held onto second throughout to take the championship by a slender five point margin.
Leitch handled the disappointment of such a narrow miss well. "It's been a good season. I was pretty happy with the EH Ball / ITM Stealth throughout. It let us down a little bit at Hampton Downs and it was a little bit we needed at the end. I felt I was a bit faster than James (Munro) yesterday but I couldn't pass and when I did the gearbox played up. In the second race he opened a gap but we diced hard again in the third race."
Leitch was also a frontrunner in last years championship taking third in the 2011/2012 Formula Ford Championship. He will step up to the Toyota Racing Series next season.
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