Several leading 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Australia powered by AWS entries are set for significant driver changes at the season-ending Adelaide Grand Final, with Broc Feeney, Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda expected to prioritise their Repco Supercars Championship commitments at the shared event. As reported by Sportscar365, Melbourne Performance Centre, Team BRM and Tigani Motorsport are all working through replacement plans for the final two GTWC Australia races of 2026.
The situation is particularly significant because all three affected cars remain involved in the upper reaches of the Pro-Am championship after Sydney. Feeney and Brad Schumacher extended their championship advantage through victory in the second race of the penultimate round, while Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti and Wood and Steve Brooks also remain among the leading combinations. The forced changes therefore introduce another variable before GTWC Australia crowns its 2026 champions on the streets of Adelaide.
Adelaide schedule creates unusual challenge for GTWC Australia teams
The Adelaide Grand Final will host both the conclusion of GTWC Australia and the final round of the Repco Supercars Championship from 26-29 November. The event was originally scheduled for early December before Supercars moved it forward to the final weekend of November, placing both championships on the same programme.
GTWC Australia will run two practice sessions on Thursday before qualifying on Friday. Race 1 begins at 9:10am local time on Saturday, while Race 2 starts at 9:40am on Sunday. Supercars then holds its major sessions later in each day, including 250-kilometre races at 3:20pm on Saturday and 3:15pm on Sunday.
Although the GT3 and Supercars races do not directly occupy the same time slots, Feeney, Wood and Ojeda are full-time Supercars drivers and are expected to concentrate exclusively on their primary championship commitments during its own season finale.
Feeney races the #88 Triple Eight Ford Mustang, Wood drives the #2 Walkinshaw TWG Racing Toyota GR Supra and Ojeda is contesting his first full Supercars season with PremiAir Racing in the #31 Chevrolet Camaro. All three therefore face significantly different priorities compared with many of the GT specialists on the Adelaide grid.
Feeney absence directly affects GTWC Australia title leader
The most consequential change concerns the #1 Kelso Electrical/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II.
Feeney and Schumacher entered the recent Sydney round leading the Pro-Am standings and strengthened that position by following fifth in Race 1 with victory on Sunday. Their Sydney success continued the momentum generated when they returned to victory at Hidden Valley and leaves Schumacher in the strongest championship position heading towards Adelaide.
Feeney, however, is expected to miss the GTWC Australia races while focusing on the Supercars Grand Final. That means Melbourne Performance Centre needs another professional driver to partner Schumacher as the Bronze-rated defending champion attempts to secure another Pro-Am crown.
Sportscar365 has linked Christopher Haase with the seat, although no replacement has yet been formally confirmed. Haase would already be familiar with both Schumacher and MPC machinery after sharing a Jamec Racing/Team MPC Audi with Schumacher and Will Brown at the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour. The official Bathurst entry list confirms the trio raced together in the Pro class earlier this year.
That existing working relationship would make Haase an experienced option should MPC ultimately choose him, but the team’s final Adelaide line-up remains to be announced.
Rules clarification opens door to stronger replacement drivers
The replacement situation has become more significant following a clarification to GTWC Australia’s substitution rules.
Sportscar365 reports that teams had previously understood replacements should broadly match the categorisation and level of the driver they were substituting. However, teams have now been informed that a substitute does not necessarily need to be a direct like-for-like replacement in FIA driver categorisation. Any change still requires approval from the Sporting Board.
That creates scope for teams to select highly experienced Gold or Platinum-level GT3 drivers rather than being restricted to competitors closely matching their outgoing driver.
The Sporting Board also retains the ability to adjust individual entries if a replacement creates a perceived competitive imbalance. According to the clarification reported by Sportscar365, possible measures include additional weight, longer pit-stop times or even making an entry ineligible to score championship points.
The regulation is particularly important in Adelaide because driver changes could directly affect the outcome of a championship that remains closely fought following a highly competitive penultimate round in Sydney.
Ojeda absence gives Tigani several options
Ojeda’s expected absence creates another important vacancy in the #66 Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO alongside Paul Lucchitti.
The pair entered Sydney among the major Pro-Am contenders after remaining consistently near the front through the opening four rounds. Ojeda also demonstrated strong outright speed during the penultimate event, including leading Friday’s opening practice before the crew’s race results fell short of their potential.
Sportscar365 reports that Scott Andrews had initially been considered as a replacement for Ojeda. Andrews already has substantial experience with Tigani Motorsport and shared the team’s Mercedes-AMG with Sergio Pires, Brendon Leitch and Marcel Zalloua at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour. The official event entry information confirms Andrews was part of that Pro-Am combination.
However, the broader substitution rules potentially allow Tigani to pursue an even more experienced Mercedes-AMG factory driver.
Auer and Engel emerge as possible Tigani options
Lucas Auer and Maro Engel are among the possibilities linked to the #66 car, although neither has been confirmed for Adelaide.
Both drivers will already be in the region shortly before the GTWC Australia finale because Mercedes-AMG has confirmed them for the FIA GT World Cup in Macau from 19-22 November. Auer will race for Tigani Motorsport itself, while Engel will compete for Craft-Bamboo Racing.
That timing creates a potentially convenient transition. The Macau main race takes place on 22 November before Adelaide running begins four days later on 26 November, making a direct trip between the two events logistically possible.
Auer would also already be working directly with Tigani immediately before Adelaide, which could make him an especially straightforward candidate from an operational perspective. However, Sportscar365 describes both Auer and Engel only as possibilities, and Tigani has not formally confirmed its revised #66 line-up.
Whichever driver ultimately joins Lucchitti could have a notable impact on the title fight, particularly because the substitution rules no longer necessarily prevent a factory-level Mercedes-AMG driver from taking the seat.
Team BRM also needs replacement for Wood
Team BRM faces a similar problem with its #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi, where Wood is expected to step aside to focus on his Walkinshaw TWG Racing Supercars commitments.
Wood and Brooks have been among GTWC Australia’s most consistent front-runners during 2026. They finished second in Hidden Valley Race 2 before taking another podium in the opening Sydney race. Their second Sydney contest appeared even more promising after Wood built a sizeable early lead, only for the Audi to retire while Brooks was at the wheel.
Wood’s Supercars programme leaves little doubt over his Adelaide priority. The New Zealander is a full-time Walkinshaw TWG Racing driver in 2026 and has already won a Supercars race at Taupō this season.
Unlike MPC and Tigani, however, no clear replacement for Wood has yet emerged publicly. Sportscar365 reports that BRM’s choice remains unresolved, leaving Brooks waiting to discover who will share the Audi during the final two races.
Schumacher could continue title fight without Feeney
The driver changes also create an unusual championship scenario for the #1 Audi.
Feeney and Schumacher have spent the season competing as a pairing, but championship points are attributed to the individual drivers. If Feeney does not race in Adelaide, he cannot add to his own total, while Schumacher can continue scoring with an approved replacement.
That makes Schumacher the central figure in MPC’s title defence regardless of who occupies the professional seat alongside him.
The pairing entered Sydney with a narrow advantage after reclaiming the lead at Hidden Valley. Their Sunday victory at Sydney then gave the #1 Audi another valuable points haul before the finale. The strength of the replacement driver could therefore become particularly important if Schumacher is to protect the advantage while Feeney concentrates on Supercars.
The same principle applies to Lucchitti and Brooks. Both can continue accumulating championship points even if Ojeda and Wood are absent, provided their revised driver combinations meet the Sporting Board’s approval.
Adelaide grid could expand for season finale
Beyond the three compulsory changes, Adelaide could feature additional one-off entries.
Sportscar365 reports that the final grid could approach 20 cars after 15 competed at Sydney, with several teams assessing expansion opportunities. Earl Bamber Motorsport joined the championship at Sydney with Tom McLennan and Andrew Georgiadis and immediately produced two top-seven finishes, while further Porsche and Mercedes-AMG entries have been discussed for Adelaide.
GTWC Australia’s official calendar confirms Adelaide will host the final two races of the season on the 3.22-kilometre street circuit. The championship last raced at the venue in 2023, and its return places the series alongside Supercars for its title-deciding weekend.
The full Adelaide entry list has not yet been released, meaning the exact number of additional cars — and several driver combinations — remain undecided.
Driver market adds another dimension to Adelaide title decider
The Adelaide finale was already set to become the most important weekend of the GTWC Australia season before the driver situation developed.
Schumacher and Feeney strengthened their advantage at Sydney, while Rosser remains their closest challenger following a second and fourth across the penultimate round. Leitch and Pires also kept themselves involved by recovering from their Race 1 retirement to finish second on Sunday, while Lucchitti and Brooks remain capable of influencing the championship even if their regular professional partners are absent.
Now, the Sporting Board’s clarification has introduced another strategic variable. MPC, Tigani and Team BRM are not simply searching for temporary drivers capable of completing the weekend; they potentially have access to some of the strongest GT3 specialists available.
For Schumacher in particular, the selection could prove decisive. A replacement such as Haase would bring existing Audi and MPC experience, while Tigani’s ability to potentially call on drivers of Auer or Engel’s calibre could strengthen Lucchitti’s challenge considerably.
Nothing is final until the respective line-ups receive approval and are officially announced. What is already clear, however, is that the shared Adelaide weekend will make GTWC Australia’s 2026 finale unusual even before the cars reach the circuit. Three of the season’s leading Pro drivers are expected to turn their attention to Supercars, while their GT3 teams prepare to reshape their line-ups for the races that will decide the championship.
