Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport’s Oscar Targett and Shane Smollen have become the sixth different GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS race winners after taking out the opening outing of Sydney in style.
Having started the race from the front after Smollen guided the #56 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to the Rowe Pole Position Award earlier today, the pair led the way for almost every single lap of the race.
Taking out second place was fellow Pro-Am title contenders Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser in the Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II, while fellow stablemates Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks rounded out the podium in the #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport / Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II.
Outside of a few minor incidents, the race was fairly straightforward as both Smollen and Targett produced mature drives to defend well against their rivals.
Despite leading the field for most of the race, Smollen did lose the lead to the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Sergio Pires briefly on the opening lap before reclaiming it back shortly after.
Pires’ fight for the lead didn’t last long after early contact caused a cracked crankcase on the Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – eventually forcing Pires to retire the car he shares with Brendon Leitch.
That retirement opened the door to Rosser and Paul Lucchitti in the #66 Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to battle it out for second place which culminated in massive contact between the two and dropped the Audi down a couple of positions, bringing in Elliott Schutte in the #26 ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3 and debutant Andrew Georgiadis in the #81 EBM Porsche 911 GT3 R into third and fourth respectively.
Following the pit stops, Targett came out at the front of the field with Ojeda in the #66 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO not far behind.
As the race went on, Ojeda managed to bridge the gap significantly on the Queenslander chasing his first win and managed to bring the gap to within one second, while Peroni worked his way from fourth to third, passing Schutte’s co-driver Jaxon Evans on the way through.
The race then had its most crucial moment when Ojeda was forced to bring the Mercedes through the pit lane due to a drive-through penalty due to a pit stop procedure penalty – causing him to drop to seventh, where they eventually finished.
Ojeda’s penalty gave Targett plenty of breathing space as he carried the car home in top spot, while elevating Rosser to second and Evans to third – only for Wood to make a significant pass of his fellow Kiwi compatriot to slot the #88 Audi R8 LMS EVO II into a podium place – their fourth top three finish for the year.
The #26 ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3 settled for fourth place as Evans held off Broc Feeney in the #1 Kelso Electrical Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II he shares with Brad Schumacher – the reigning champions crossing the line in fifth.
Having led briefly during the race, the #81 EBM Porsche of Tom McLennan and Georgiadis finished sixth ahead of Ojeda and Lucchitti, while Will Davison and Renee Gracie guided the #181 OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 to eighth, a further six seconds off the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The final places in the top 10 were decided by a frantic finish as the Zagame Autosport Ferrari 296 GT3 of Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell edged out the #2 Trading Garage Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Valentino Astuti and Darren Currie by less than two hundredths of a second.
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS returns tomorrow for its final race on the 2026 Shannons SpeedSeries calendar at 2:05pm AEST.
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