Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires have taken the lead of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Australia powered by AWS Pro-Am standings following Round 3 at Queensland Raceway.
The Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport pairing collected a third-place finish in Race 1 before securing their second victory of the season in Race 2. They now lead the championship with 85 points, nine ahead of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti.
Meanwhile, Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher have fallen from first to third after a difficult conclusion to the Queensland weekend. Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte remain close behind in fourth, while Tigani Motorsport has further strengthened its advantage in the Overall Teams Championship.
Close margins define Friday practice at Queensland Raceway
The Queensland weekend began with three different crews leading the respective Friday sessions.
Evans and Schutte topped Practice 1 for ARGT with a 1:07.470, leading an early Ferrari one-two ahead of Will Davison and Renee Gracie. Feeney and Schumacher followed in third, while only three thousandths of a second separated the cars from third to fifth.
Gracie then led the Bronze-only session with a 1:07.757. Pires finished only 0.088 seconds behind, while Paul Lucchitti completed the top three.
Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks concluded Friday fastest of all. Wood recorded a 1:06.924 in the Team BRM/Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS EVO II, beating Davison by only 0.039 seconds. The result highlighted the Audi pairing’s pace before they later secured a podium in Race 2.
Targett and Tigani complete Queensland qualifying sweep
Tigani Motorsport controlled Saturday Qualifying through Oscar Targett and Justin Tigani.
Targett secured pole for the opening race with a late 1:08.455 in the #56 Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. The result also made him the first SRO GT Academy driver to claim an SRO pole position.
Leitch completed a Tigani Motorsport front-row lockout, while Feeney and Davison occupied the second row.
Tigani then claimed pole for Race 2 on his series debut. His 1:07.587 placed the Mercedes-AMG only four hundredths of a second ahead of Gracie, with Pires and Schumacher completing an unchanged top four across the two sessions.
Gracie and Davison claim breakthrough Race 1 victory
Race 1 belonged to Gracie and Davison, who secured their first victory of the season and Ferrari’s first overall GTWC Australia win of 2026.
Justin Tigani initially led from pole, but Gracie remained within range before passing the Mercedes-AMG during the opening stint. She subsequently built an advantage of more than three seconds before handing the OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 to Davison.
Davison maintained control after the mandatory pit stops and finished more than three seconds ahead of Targett and Tigani. Leitch and Pires completed the podium, collecting 15 important championship points before their Race 2 victory.
Evans and Schutte placed fourth after moving ahead during the pit-stop phase, while Feeney and Schumacher recovered to fifth. Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser followed in sixth.
Wood and Brooks finished seventh, ahead of Ojeda and Lucchitti. Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz placed ninth, while Luke Youlden and Nathan Halstead completed the overall top 10 and secured the Trophy Cup victory.
Leitch and Pires take control in Race 2
Leitch and Pires completed their Queensland weekend with a commanding Race 2 victory.
Targett started from pole, but Leitch made the stronger launch and claimed the lead at the opening corner. He immediately began to pull away and held an advantage of almost eight seconds when the mandatory pit window opened.
Pires took over the #44 Mercedes-AMG and managed the advantage through the closing stages. Although Wood reduced the margin, Pires remained composed and crossed the line one second ahead of the Team BRM/Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi.
Evans and Schutte completed the podium for ARGT. Ojeda and Lucchitti finished fourth, while Peroni and Rosser took fifth following Peroni’s recovery from the back of the field.
Targett and Tigani placed sixth, ahead of Valentino Astuti and Darren Currie. Davison and Gracie followed in eighth, with D’Alberto and Deitz ninth.
Youlden and Halstead again completed the overall top 10 and secured their second Trophy Cup victory of the weekend.
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: Leitch and Pires take Pro-Am lead
Leitch and Pires gained 40 points across the Queensland weekend to move from fifth to first in the Pro-Am Drivers’ Championship.
Their third-place finish in Race 1 and victory in Race 2 lifted them to 85 points. They are also the only pairing to have won at two different rounds, having previously taken Race 1 honours at The Bend.
Ojeda and Lucchitti remain second on 76 points. Although they did not extend their two-race winning run, sixth in Race 1 and fourth in Race 2 limited the damage to their championship position.
Feeney and Schumacher have dropped to third with 73 points. The reigning champions scored 12 points in the opening race but added only one in Race 2, leaving them 12 behind the new leaders.
Evans and Schutte sit fourth on 72 points, only one behind Feeney and Schumacher. Their fourth-place finish and Race 2 podium produced 19 points across the weekend.
Mark Rosser holds fifth with 70 points after racing with Peroni in Queensland. Wood and Brooks follow on 61 after their second-place Race 2 result moved them ahead of Targett.
Targett sits seventh on 56 points, while former co-driver Thomas Randle remains eighth with 50. Davison and Gracie have climbed to ninth on 45 after their breakthrough victory.
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: Pro-Am Drivers
- Brendon Leitch (Pro) and Sergio Pires (Am) – 85
- Jayden Ojeda (Pro) and Paul Lucchitti (Am) – 76
- Broc Feeney (Pro) and Brad Schumacher (Am) – 73
- Jaxon Evans (Pro) and Elliott Schutte (Am) – 72
- Mark Rosser (Am) – 70
- Ryan Wood (Pro) and Steve Brooks (Am) – 61
- Oscar Targett (Pro) – 56
- Thomas Randle (Pro) – 50
- Will Davison (Pro) and Renee Gracie (Am) – 45
- Shane Smollen (Am) – 28
- Justin Tigani (Am) – 28
- Valentino Astuti (Pro) and Darren Currie (Am) – 27
- Alex Peroni (Pro) – 20
- Josh Buchan (Pro) and Cameron Campbell (Am) – 20
- Tony D’Alberto (Pro) and Adrian Deitz (Am) – 14
- Josh Hunt (Pro) and Geoff Emery (Am) – 9
- Garnet Patterson (Pro) and JP Drake (Am) – 4
Not classified:
- Jordan Love
- Steve Wyatt
Youlden and Halstead complete Queensland Trophy sweep
Youlden and Halstead significantly strengthened their Trophy Cup position by winning both Queensland races in the #71 AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R.
The pair started the weekend by leading the class in Practice 1 and Practice 2. Youlden then secured the Race 1 class pole before converting the Porsche’s pace into victory.
They won the opening race by approximately 10 seconds over Paul Stokell and Garry Higgon, with Cameron Rees completing the podium on his championship debut.
The same order remained at the front in Race 2. Youlden and Halstead again finished 10th overall, defeating the KFC Team MPC Audi by 10 seconds. Rees secured another third-place result after taking the Race 2 Trophy pole.
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: Trophy Drivers
- Paul Stokell – 121
- Nathan Halstead and Luke Youlden – 110
- Matthew Stoupas – 85
- Alex Gardner – 77
- Lee Stibbs – 44
- Garry Higgon – 36
- Ben Porter – 33
- Cameron Rees – 31
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: Am Drivers
James and Theo Koundouris remain listed in the Am Drivers’ Championship but have not yet scored a point.
Not classified:
- James Koundouris
- Theo Koundouris
The official standings currently show both drivers on zero points.
Targett extends SRO GT Academy advantage
Targett strengthened his position in the SRO GT Academy competition during a highly productive Queensland weekend.
The young driver secured the Race 1 overall pole, becoming the first member of the programme to claim an SRO pole position. He and Tigani then finished second in the opening race before placing sixth in Race 2.
Targett therefore remains comfortably ahead of Astuti, who added further Academy points after finishing seventh alongside Currie in Race 2.
Gardner retains third despite not competing at Queensland.
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: SRO GT Academy Drivers
- Oscar Targett – 216
- Valentino Astuti – 162
- Alex Gardner – 84
Tigani Motorsport extends Overall Teams Championship lead
Tigani Motorsport has increased its lead in the Overall Teams Championship to 46 points after another successful weekend.
The team collected 19 points in Race 1 through Targett and Tigani before Leitch and Pires delivered the maximum 26-point score in Race 2. Tigani Motorsport now has 141 points from the opening six races.
Melbourne Performance Centre remains second with 95 points. Feeney and Schumacher supplied the team’s best Queensland results, although their difficult Race 2 prevented it from matching Tigani Motorsport.
Team BRM has moved within two points of Melbourne Performance Centre. Wood and Brooks’ second-place finish helped the team reach 93 points.
ARGT follows in fourth with 80 points after Evans and Schutte secured another podium. OnlyFans Racing has climbed to fifth on 59 following Gracie and Davison’s Race 1 victory.
Zagame Autosport and Wall Racing share 42 points, while Volante Rosso Motorsport completes the order with 40.
2026 GTWC Australia: Standings after Round 3: Overall Teams Championship
- Tigani Motorsport – 141
- Melbourne Performance Centre – 95
- Team BRM – 93
- ARGT – 80
- OnlyFans Racing – 59
- Zagame Autosport – 42
- Wall Racing – 42
- Volante Rosso Motorsport – 40
Championship lead changes hands at the halfway point
Queensland Raceway produced the third different championship-leading pairing of the season.
Feeney and Schumacher arrived with a two-point advantage over Ojeda and Lucchitti. However, Leitch and Pires’ combination of a podium and victory allowed them to move from fifth to first in one weekend.
Nevertheless, the championship remains closely contested. Only 13 points separate the leading four pairings, while Rosser sits another two points behind Evans and Schutte.
Tigani Motorsport has established a more comfortable Teams Championship advantage through the strength of its three Mercedes-AMG entries. However, Melbourne Performance Centre, Team BRM and ARGT remain separated by only 15 points in the battle for second.
The 2026 GTWC Australia season will continue at Hidden Valley Raceway from 24–26 July, where Leitch and Pires will attempt to protect their nine-point championship lead.
