Friday morning saw Leyton climb behind the wheel of a rear-wheel-driven BMW M2 Cup racer for the first time as he headed out for his only practice session of the day. Much to everyone’s surprise, including the German paddock, Leyton topped the timesheets with a minute to spare before a competitor on fresher tyres pipped him for the top position. Leyton shares the emotion of his first outing in the 331kW German racecar.
“The M2 is an incredible car. It has about as much power as my GTC SupaCup car at home, but it weighs around 300kg more. It requires a completely different driving style being rear-wheel driven and handling very well. I’m pleased with my pace this morning. The Project 1 Motorsport crew have also been superb, and the car is fantastic around here. I narrowly miss out on the top spot but I’m hoping that my pace will see me slice through the field in the additional race scheduled ahead of qualifying a little later today. In a way, it allows me extra 30-odd minutes of track time.”
Leyton would however miss out on that valuable track time after he started at the rear of the field but after only three laps was forced to retire the car with a broken steering rod after colliding with another competitor as he explains, “Unfortunately I tried a move up the inside of a more than expected dirty inside line and the brakes locked up. I managed to recover control of the car, but it was too late to make the turn and I ran into the side of another competitor breaking the steering rod. It’s unfortunate.”
An exciting and closely-contested qualifying followed that saw Leyton again fighting at the top of the timesheet with the South African guest driver finishing in fourth. He, however, received a three-place grid penalty for the earlier race incident. The race started fiercely as the front few rows rushed to arrive at the first corner ahead of the rest. Leyton made a quick start and slotted into sixth as the similarly powered racecars quickly formed a convoy of BMW M2s around the famous German circuit. While Leyton went on to finish in eighth, he battled gallantly for fifth during the race’s opening phase. This would lead to unwarranted tyre wear that would see his pace drop off during the final stages of the race.
Sunday’s second race saw a confident Leyton take up the third position on the grid. With a few more laps under his belt and a strategy to conserve the rear tyres, he would progress to second during the opening laps of the race. Following a safety-car period due to an accident that nearly ended his race, he maintained his position despite the damage to his car. Some quick laps would however not be enough to keep his competitor at bay and Leyton was passed under braking into the tight hairpin. Maintaining position over the finish line he would claim a maiden podium on debut.
“It’s incredible to think that we are on the podium in our first outing in the BMW M2 Cup,” said Leyton. “But I think I surprised many with my pace on Friday morning and during Qualifying. The car handles really well and I just need to gain some more experience with the rear-wheel drive system. But yes, what a weekend. Grateful to the entire team at Project 1 as well as the promoters. The plan is to compete in a full season in 2023 so it’s quite an exciting prospect.”
Leyton thanks Project 1 Motorsport, Express Hire, Motorsport Fanatix and ATS Motorsport Supplies for the support this weekend. He will head back to South Africa where he hopes to wrap up the 2022 Global Touring Cars SupaCup Championship at Zwartkops Raceway on October 14.
