The penultimate round of the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) Australia powered by AWS season began with three different pace-setters across Friday’s practice sessions at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti led the opening hour for Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport before returning driver Brett Hobson topped Bronze Practice in the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO. Reigning champions and championship leaders Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher then ended Friday fastest of all, with Feeney placing the Kelso Electrical/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II at the top of Practice 2.
2026 GTWC Australia Sydney: Ojeda and Lucchitti set early Practice 1 pace
Ojeda and Lucchitti opened the Sydney weekend at the top of the order as the championship contenders immediately demonstrated strong pace. Ojeda recorded a 1:26.2939 on the 11th lap of the #66 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, giving the Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport pairing a 0.2033s advantage at the end of the one-hour session.
Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser had initially led for Team BRM before Ojeda moved ahead. Peroni’s 1:26.4972 ultimately left the #268 Audi R8 LMS EVO II second, while Oscar Targett and Shane Smollen followed closely in third for Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport. Their 1:26.5325 put them only 0.2386s away from the outright benchmark.
Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks made it two Team BRM Audis inside the top four, recording a 1:26.5970 in the #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport entry. Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte completed the top five for ARGT with a 1:26.6852, meaning less than four-tenths separated the five quickest cars as teams began their preparations around Sydney Motorsport Park’s 3.93-kilometre Gardner circuit.
Feeney and Schumacher opened their weekend sixth in the #1 Audi, 0.4568s off Ojeda’s benchmark, with Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell seventh for Zagame Autosport. Sydney newcomers Tom McLennan and Andrew Georgiadis impressed in eighth aboard the Earl Bamber Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires took ninth in the Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG.
Luke Youlden and Nathan Halstead led the Trophy Class from 10th overall in the #71 AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R. Their 1:27.1940 put them 1.0394s clear of class rivals Paul Stokell and Matthew Stoupas, who finished 14th overall in the KFC/Team MPC Audi. The returning Hobson and Michael Sheargold placed 11th overall and led the Am classification on their GTWC Australia return with GWR Australia/RAM Motorsport.
A red flag interrupted the session, although the entire 15-car field completed running without any major problems. The opening hour nevertheless suggested another closely fought weekend, with the leading eight entries all finishing within three-quarters of a second of Ojeda and Lucchitti.
2026 GTWC Australia Sydney: Hobson leads Bronze Practice on return
Hobson followed his encouraging opening session by setting the outright benchmark in Bronze Practice. The RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia driver produced a 1:27.1696 on his 16th lap, marking a strong return to GTWC Australia competition after making his first series appearance since 2023.
His session-leading effort came during a busy closing phase. Hobson jumped from ninth to first with just over three minutes remaining, briefly lost the position as several rivals improved, and then responded to reclaim the top spot. He ultimately finished 0.3936s ahead of Rosser, who recorded a 1:27.5632 in the #268 Team BRM Audi.
Renee Gracie placed third for OnlyFans Racing after briefly challenging at the front during the closing stages. Her 1:28.2847 left the Ferrari 296 GT3 1.1151s behind Hobson, while Lucchitti took fourth in the Practice 1-leading Mercedes-AMG with a 1:28.3904. Andrew Georgiadis continued an impressive first GTWC Australia weekend by moving up eight positions during the session and eventually taking fifth for Earl Bamber Motorsport.
Pires followed in sixth ahead of Smollen and Schumacher, while Stokell and Stoupas led the Trophy Class from ninth overall with a 1:30.1564. Darren Currie completed the overall top 10 for Trading Garage/Team MPC, while Halstead finished second among the Trophy runners in 14th with a 1:31.7340.
The session produced several changes at the front as the Bronze-rated drivers continued lowering their times, but Hobson’s late effort ultimately proved comfortably quick enough to retain first place. It also provided an immediate indication of the pace available from the returning RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia entry before the full field returned for the evening session.
2026 GTWC Australia Sydney: Feeney and Schumacher end Friday fastest
Feeney and Schumacher ensured the championship-leading #1 Audi ended Friday at the head of the field after setting the quickest lap of the entire day during Practice 2.
Feeney produced his 1:25.9004 on only the ninth lap of the Kelso Electrical/Team MPC Audi’s session. Despite almost the entire hour remaining, nobody managed to dislodge the reigning champions, with the time standing as Friday’s outright benchmark and becoming the only lap below the 1:26 barrier.
Wood and Brooks moved into second for Team BRM/Wolfbrook Motorsport with a 1:26.2125, finishing 0.3121s behind the leading Audi. Buchan and Campbell were only 0.0082s slower in third, as their #23 Zagame Autosport Ferrari produced a 1:26.2207 and continued the strong form that had already brought the pairing its maiden GTWC Australia podium at Hidden Valley.
Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz provided one of the session’s biggest surprises by putting the returning Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 fourth. Their 1:26.2839 left them only 0.3835s from Feeney and Schumacher and placed second through fourth within just 0.0714s of one another.
Will Davison and Gracie completed the top five for OnlyFans Racing with a 1:26.6216, while Evans and Schutte finished sixth for ARGT. McLennan and Georgiadis continued their encouraging debut weekend in seventh, just over one second away from the benchmark.
Youlden and Halstead returned to the front of the Trophy Class in eighth overall with a 1:27.7106. Practice 1 leaders Ojeda and Lucchitti dropped to ninth in the final session, while Valentino Astuti and Currie completed the top 10. Stokell and Stoupas placed second in Trophy and 12th overall, behind Targett and Smollen.
Leitch and Pires finished 13th during a relatively quiet session for one of the championship’s leading pairings, while Peroni and Rosser dropped from second in Practice 1 to 14th. Bronze Practice leader Hobson and Sheargold completed the order in 15th, although their earlier 1:27.1696 remained comfortably quicker than the time they produced in the final hour.
Feeney and Schumacher therefore closed Friday in the strongest position among the Pro-Am title contenders. The pair arrived in Sydney with a seven-point championship advantage after reclaiming the lead at Hidden Valley, and their Practice 2 performance provided an encouraging start as the fight moved towards the weekend’s competitive sessions.
Looking ahead to Qualifying
GTWC Australia returns at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday with both 15-minute Qualifying sessions taking place during the afternoon. Qualifying 1 begins at 2:35pm AEST before Qualifying 2 follows at 3:00pm, setting the grids for the weekend’s two races.
Race 1 will then begin at 7:50pm AEST on Saturday, placing the field under the Sydney Motorsport Park lights for the opening one-hour contest. Race 2 follows at 2:05pm AEST on Sunday as the penultimate event of the 2026 season concludes.
