Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher will take a 14-point advantage into the final round of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Australia powered by AWS season after extending their Pro-Am championship lead during Round 5 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The reigning champions finished fifth in Saturday night’s opening race before responding with victory on Sunday, increasing their total from 111 to 146 points. Mark Rosser emerged as their nearest challenger after combining second and fourth across the weekend, while Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires sit third following a Race 1 retirement and second place in Race 2.
Meanwhile, Paul Stokell extended his Trophy Cup advantage after he and Matt Stoupas swept both Sydney races. Tigani Motorsport strengthened its Overall Teams Championship lead, while Oscar Targett remains ahead of Valentino Astuti in the SRO GT Academy standings heading into Adelaide. The Sydney results significantly reshaped the picture established after Round 4 at Hidden Valley.
Three different crews lead Sydney practice sessions
The penultimate round began with three different pace-setters across Friday’s sessions as the 15-car field prepared for two races at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti opened the weekend fastest for Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport, while returning Am Cup driver Brett Hobson topped Bronze Practice in the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. Feeney and Schumacher then ended Friday at the front, with Feeney’s 1:25.9004 making the #1 Kelso Electrical/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II the quickest car of the day.
The competitive order remained extremely close behind the leaders. Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks finished second in Practice 2, while Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell followed in third. The weekend also marked the return of Hobson and Michael Sheargold, whose GTWC Australia comeback with GWR Australia/RAM Motorsport added an Am Cup entry for the final two rounds of the season.
Peroni and Smollen split Sydney pole honours
Qualifying produced two different pole-sitters and immediately added championship significance to the weekend. Alex Peroni claimed the Race 2 pole for Team BRM, while Shane Smollen put the #56 Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG at the front for Saturday night’s opening contest.
Smollen’s pole gave Targett and Smollen an ideal opportunity to build on their increasingly competitive season, while Peroni’s result provided Rosser with an additional championship point because the drivers sharing the #268 Team BRM Audi score together when both are eligible.
The session also confirmed how close the Sydney field remained. Several Pro-Am title contenders started inside the leading group, while Feeney and Schumacher faced a more difficult Race 1 starting position before improving their prospects for Sunday.
Targett and Smollen secure maiden Race 1 victory
Targett and Smollen converted pole into their first outright GTWC Australia victory under the Sydney Motorsport Park lights. Smollen briefly lost the lead to Pires on the opening lap but quickly reclaimed it, while the #44 Mercedes-AMG’s challenge ended soon afterwards when contact caused damage that eventually forced Pires and Leitch to retire.
Targett took over the #56 during the mandatory stops and resisted pressure from Ojeda before a drive-through penalty for the #66 Mercedes-AMG removed his closest challenger. He eventually finished 12.6652 seconds ahead of Peroni and Rosser, with Wood and Brooks completing the podium. The victory made Targett and Smollen the sixth different winning combination of the season.
Feeney and Schumacher finished fifth, limiting the damage to their championship lead despite Rosser’s second place. Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte took fourth, while Ojeda and Lucchitti recovered to seventh following their penalty. Stokell and Stoupas won the Trophy Cup, while Hobson and Sheargold claimed Am Cup honours on their return.
Feeney and Schumacher respond with Race 2 victory
Sunday produced another major championship swing as Feeney and Schumacher returned to the top step.
Peroni started from pole but lost the lead to Wood on Lap 2, while Leitch soon followed into second. Wood then created an advantage of almost eight seconds before handing the #88 Team BRM Audi to Brooks, seemingly placing the pairing in position to claim its first victory of the season.
However, Brooks stopped on circuit on Lap 22 and triggered a Safety Car. Schumacher had passed Pires shortly beforehand and therefore inherited the lead, which he retained through the restart before taking the chequered flag. Leitch and Pires recovered from their Saturday retirement to finish second, while Astuti and Darren Currie claimed their first podium together in third.
Rosser finished fourth after losing the final podium position to Currie, while Renee Gracie and Will Davison completed the top five. Evans and Schutte followed in sixth, ahead of Sydney newcomers Tom McLennan and Andrew Georgiadis, who completed an encouraging GTWC Australia debut weekend with Earl Bamber Motorsport.
Feeney and Schumacher extend Pro-Am championship lead
Feeney and Schumacher entered Sydney on 111 points and holding a 10-point advantage in the published post-Hidden Valley classification. Their fifth place in Race 1 added 10 before victory on Sunday contributed another 25, lifting the defending champions to 146.
Rosser produced the strongest weekend among their direct rivals. Second place in Race 1 added 18 points before Peroni’s Sunday pole contributed one more and fourth in Race 2 added another 12. Rosser therefore scored 31 across the round to move from 101 to 132 and becomes the closest challenger to Feeney and Schumacher heading into Adelaide.
Leitch and Pires had a much more uneven weekend. Their Race 1 retirement produced no points, but second on Sunday added 18 and lifted them from 101 to 119. They consequently drop behind Rosser and now trail the leaders by 27 points.
Ojeda and Lucchitti remain fourth after adding 12 across the weekend, moving from 94 to 106. Evans and Schutte reach 100 after finishing fourth and sixth, while Wood and Brooks move to 95 after their Race 1 podium was followed by Sunday’s retirement.
Targett climbs to seventh on 93 following his victory and pole bonus, while Peroni reaches 82. Davison and Gracie move to 80, and Smollen reaches 65 after missing the Queensland Raceway round earlier in the season.
2026 GTWC Australia standings after Round 5: Pro-Am Drivers
- Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher — 146 points
- Mark Rosser — 132 points
- Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires — 119 points
- Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti — 106 points
- Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte — 100 points
- Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks — 95 points
- Oscar Targett — 93 points
- Alex Peroni — 82 points
- Will Davison and Renee Gracie — 80 points
- Shane Smollen — 65 points
- Valentino Astuti and Darren Currie — 58 points
- Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell — 52 points
- Thomas Randle — 50 points
- Justin Tigani — 28 points
- Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz — 16 points
- Garnet Patterson and JP Drake — 14 points
- Josh Hunt and Geoff Emery — 9 points
Not classified: Jordan Love and Steve Wyatt — 0 points.
McLennan and Georgiadis are ineligible to score championship points from their late-season entry despite finishing sixth and seventh during their Sydney debut. The official GTWC Australia Pro-Am standings determine the championship order.
Feeney and Schumacher therefore lead Rosser by 14 points, while Leitch and Pires sit another 13 behind. With two races and two qualifying bonus points available in Adelaide, the fight remains open among several crews, but the reigning champions now control their own title destiny.
Stokell and Stoupas sweep Trophy Cup
Stokell and Stoupas produced a perfect Sydney race weekend in the Trophy Cup.
The #24 KFC/Team MPC Audi won Saturday’s opening race before repeating the result on Sunday. Their weekend yielded 51 points, including a qualifying bonus, taking Stokell from 165 to 216 and Stoupas from 129 to 180.
Youlden and Nathan Halstead finished second in both races aboard the #71 AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R. They added 37 points across the weekend and move from 154 to 191.
Consequently, Stokell has expanded his championship advantage from 11 to 25 points before Adelaide. Stoupas also remains mathematically involved despite missing the Queensland Raceway round, sitting another 11 points behind Youlden and Halstead.
2026 GTWC Australia standings after Round 5: Trophy Drivers
- Paul Stokell — 216 points
- Nathan Halstead and Luke Youlden — 191 points
- Matthew Stoupas — 180 points
- Alex Gardner — 77 points
- Lee Stibbs — 44 points
- Gary Higgon — 36 points
- Ben Porter — 33 points
- Cameron Rees — 31 points
The official Trophy Drivers standings leave Stokell 25 points ahead of Youlden and Halstead, with Stoupas 36 behind his KFC/Team MPC teammate.
Am Drivers’ championship remains unchanged despite Sydney sweep
Sydney marked the return of an Am Cup entry after several rounds without an eligible championship contender.
Hobson and Sheargold dominated the category throughout their comeback weekend. Hobson led Bronze Practice on Friday before the pair won the Am Cup in both races aboard the #45 RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. Their return had already been confirmed for both Sydney and Adelaide, giving the category another regular entry for the closing stages of 2026.
However, the pairing is not eligible to score championship points from its late-season entry. Therefore, the published Am Drivers’ Championship remains unchanged, with James and Theo Koundouris the only classified drivers and both still on zero.
2026 GTWC Australia standings after Round 5: Am Drivers
Not classified
- James Koundouris — 0 points
- Theo Koundouris — 0 points
The official Am Drivers standings consequently remain unchanged despite Hobson and Sheargold taking both Sydney class victories.
Targett retains SRO GT Academy lead
Targett also leaves Sydney in control of the SRO GT Academy battle, although Astuti remains his only realistic challenger heading to Adelaide.
Unlike the Pro-Am and Trophy championships, SRO GT Academy points are not awarded directly from race finishing positions. Instead, eligible drivers are assessed through criteria including qualifying performance, average stint pace, fastest laps and broader single-driver performance. The winner receives a fully funded Silver Cup opportunity at the 2027 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Targett had carried a 42-point advantage out of Hidden Valley after Astuti outscored him during the Darwin weekend. Sydney nevertheless proved highly productive for the Tigani Motorsport driver, who combined strong individual pace with his first outright GTWC Australia victory.
The updated Academy classification places Targett on 345 points, with Astuti second on 285 and Gardner remaining third on 84 after not contesting the recent rounds. Targett’s advantage therefore stands at 60 points before the final event.
2026 GTWC Australia standings after Round 5: SRO GT Academy Drivers
- Oscar Targett — 345 points
- Valentino Astuti — 285 points
- Alex Gardner — 84 points
The SRO GT Academy standings continue to place Targett at the head of the contest as the prize fight moves towards Adelaide.
Tigani Motorsport extends Overall Teams Championship lead
Tigani Motorsport strengthened its position at the head of the Overall Teams Championship during its home Sydney round.
The team entered on 171 points and added 44 across the weekend. Targett and Smollen supplied the maximum 25 race points plus the qualifying bonus in Race 1, while Leitch and Pires provided 18 through second place on Sunday. Tigani therefore reaches 215 points and holds a 45-point advantage before Adelaide.
Melbourne Performance Centre moves into second on countback after Feeney and Schumacher contributed fifth and first across the weekend. The team rises from 133 to 170.
Team BRM also reaches 170 after another strong weekend. Peroni and Rosser finished second and fourth, while Wood and Brooks added a Race 1 podium before retiring from the second contest. Despite finishing level on points with Melbourne Performance Centre, Team BRM remains third in the official classification.
ARGT stays fourth after Evans and Schutte added two more top-six finishes, moving to 115. OnlyFans Racing follows on 104 after Gracie and Davison scored in both races, while Zagame Autosport reaches 84.
Wall Racing returned after missing Hidden Valley and moves to 54, while Volante Rosso Motorsport remains eighth on 40.
2026 GTWC Australia standings after Round 5: Overall Teams Championship
- Tigani Motorsport — 215 points
- Melbourne Performance Centre — 170 points
- Team BRM — 170 points
- ARGT — 115 points
- OnlyFans Racing — 104 points
- Zagame Autosport — 84 points
- Wall Racing — 54 points
- Volante Rosso Motorsport — 40 points
The official Overall Teams Championship standings place Melbourne Performance Centre ahead of Team BRM on countback despite both reaching 170 points.
Tigani’s advantage has grown from 35 points after Hidden Valley to 45 following Sydney. However, with another two races and qualifying bonuses available at Adelaide, the Teams’ Championship remains mathematically open.
Adelaide set to decide the 2026 championships
Sydney has given Feeney and Schumacher their strongest championship position since reclaiming the lead at Hidden Valley. They arrived at the penultimate round with Rosser, Leitch and Pires all close behind, but Sunday’s victory allowed the defending champions to create a 14-point margin over their nearest rival.
Rosser remains firmly involved after another high-scoring weekend, while Leitch and Pires’ Race 2 recovery prevented their Saturday retirement from ending their championship ambitions. Ojeda and Lucchitti, Evans and Schutte, and Wood and Brooks also remain within mathematical reach of the lead with 52 points potentially available from the final two races and qualifying sessions.
The Trophy fight has also shifted in Stokell’s favour after his Sydney sweep, although Youlden, Halstead and Stoupas remain capable of challenging him. Tigani Motorsport similarly controls the Teams’ Championship but has not yet built an insurmountable advantage.
GTWC Australia will now head to the bp Adelaide Grand Final from 26–29 November, where the final two races of the 2026 season will determine the Pro-Am, Trophy, SRO GT Academy and Overall Teams champions.
