Tigani Motorsport has announced plans to field four Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVOs in the 2026 GT World Challenge Australia, for the team’s first season as the German marque’s official customer racing partner in Australia.
In Pro-Am, Sergio Pires and Brendon Leitch will share the #44 Mercedes-AMG, with Shane Smollen and Oscar Targett teaming up in the #56 entry, and Paul Lucchitti and Jayden Ojeda driving the #66 AMG GT3 EVO.
And in Am, brothers James and Theo Koundouris will share the Supabarn-backed #47 AMG GT3 EVO for the third consecutive season.
Leitch, Smollen and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia graduate Targett are all new signings for the team, with the remaining drivers all returning from Tigani’s 2025 assault.
2024 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final winner Leitch joins Tigani after two seasons with Melbourne Performance Centre, where the 30-year-old shared a car with Tim Miles until Miles’ untimely passing last year.
“I’m extremely happy to be back. It’s a fantastic championship, and I’m returning with a strong team and co-driver, which makes it even more exciting,” Leitch said. “After racing with Tim [Miles], I felt a real hole and wanted to make sure I kept building on the upward trajectory we’d created. Joining Sergio and Tigani Motorsport was a no-brainer. When I was approached to race here, it just felt right.”
2024 GT4 Australia Pro-Am champion Smollen, meanwhile, is set to take on his first full-season in GT World Challenge Australia, after making a pair of one-off appearances for EMA Motorsport and the Tigani-supported Mach 1 Engineering last year.
Last season, Tigani Motorsport finished third in both the Pro-Am and Am teams’ championships. The team also picked up a single race victory courtesy of Ojeda and Lucchitti, who finished third in the Pro-Am drivers’ championship after a consistent campaign.
In 2026, Tigani’s four Mercedes-AMGs will be joined by a 991-spec Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Nathan Halstead and 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner Luke Youlden set to run in the Trophy class.
The pairing made their GT World Challenge Australia debut last season, with a one-off appearance at Queensland Raceway during which they finished on the class podium.
“We’ve talked about doing this together for some time and the series provides a unique opportunity to not only coach but to also drive,” said Youlden, who is set to take on his first full-season racing campaign since 2022. “We go into this season looking to win the class. I think we’ll also surprise a few in Pro Am if some things go our way. Even though the car is a little older, it will be close in performance to the newer models judging by how well we mixed it with the heavy weights at Queensland Raceway last year.
“I don’t think you can win the championship without consistency and wins. The main target will be to get Nathan feeling comfortable and confident. We’ve done some one-on-one coaching recently and if he can drive as aggressively as he did that day then there will be no stopping him!”
The 2026 GT World Challenge Australia season begins later this month with GT Festival Phillip Island, on 27–29 March 2026.
Images © Race Project/Daniel Kalisz/GT World Challenge Australia
