Shane Smollen will make a full time step up to GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS in 2026, with the two-time Monochrome GT4 Australia class champion to be joined by rising star and GT debutant Oscar Targett for a season campaign in the Pro-Am class.
Following a brief run with Tigani Motorsport at last year’s GT Festival Hampton Downs, Smollen will remain with the New South Wales based team as part of its exciting expansion as the new Mercedes-AMG works team.
While this season will be Smollen’s maiden GT World Challenge Australia full campaign, it won’t be his first time in the category or the car, having made two appearances during 2025 that began with a successful debut in the EMA Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3R at Phillip Island alongside France’s Dorian Boccolacci where the pair ended the weekend with a top five finish and a pole position.
Smollen then returned for the final round with New Zealander Ant Pedersen behind the wheel of a Mercedes-AMG GT4 in a joint effort between Mach 1 Engineering and Tigani Motorsport.
The Hampton Downs round marked a significant shift for Smollen in his career, who had spent the majority of his GT racing career behind the wheel of a Porsche.
Prior to his GT World Challenge Australia debut last year in Phillip Island, Smollen had secured back-to-back Monochrome GT4 Australia titles. The first came during the category’s first ever season in 2023 where he dominated the field to win 15 out of the 23 races, before winning the Silver-Am Cup (then Pro-Am) in 2024 with Lachlan Mineeff thanks to 11 podiums from 12 races – four of which were on the top step.
Outside of GT World Challenge Australia and Monochrome GT4 Australia, Smollen’s career spans more than 200 races across a range of national categories.
Since making his racing debut in 2006, Smollen had large stints racing in the highly esteemed Porsche Carrera Cup and the Australian Production Cars Series, as well as making many appearances in the standalone Bathurst 12 Hour and Bathurst 6 Hour events.
In that time, he has enjoyed plenty of success, picking up plenty of race wins and podiums along the way - including a Production Cup title in 2021 and Bathurst 12 Hour class podiums in 2007 and 2014.
While Smollen has been racing for more than two decades, his new teammate in Targett is still towards the start of his journey with the 2026 season to serve as his fourth year racing at a national level.
Making his car debut in an Excel in 2020 following a successful junior career in karting, Targett went national in 2023 when he entered the TGRA Scholarship Series and finished fourth overall before moving up to the TGRA GR Cup to see off the season.
That same year, Targett also ran in Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Series where he enjoyed four podiums in seven races before having a breakout season in 2024 where he claimed 11 victories, a further five podiums and three pole positions saw him win the title.
Targett also made an international debut in 2024, running in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia before stepping into Porsche Carrera Cup Australia last year where he picked up a podium.
Last year also saw Targett get behind the wheel of a BMW F82 M4 in the Bathurst 6 Hour alongside Robert Gooley and Karl Berg, with the trio finishing fourth overall.
Targett is the first confirmed FIA Silver graded driver to be eligible for SRO GT Academy points. The winner of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS element will join their equivalents from GT World Challenge Asia, America and British GT in a fully funded CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa entry next year.
The pair begin their 2026 GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season at this month’s LIQUI MOLY GT Festival Phillip Island as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries on 27-29 March.
QUOTES
Shane Smollen
#56 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I experienced a good taste of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS in 2025 where I was able to compete in both a Porsche and a Mercedes-AMG at the end of the year,” Smollen said.
“I really embraced the challenge of moving to the Mercedes-AMG at the end of the year and it was a fun challenge adapting my driving style to the front engined V8. Also working closely with Nathan (Tigani) and the Tigani Motorsport team was a positive experience, so it was an easy decision to return with them this year.
“Nathan has a very professional team and knows how to run a competitive package. He is highly deserving of being the Mercedes-AMG works team.
“I am really looking forward to running with Oscar this year. He is a rising star in Australian motorsport with plenty of success ALREADY behind him. He is mature beyond his years both on and off the track ,so I think driving with him will be a great experience.
“Overall, I am looking forward to the upcoming year and will be aiming for race wins despite some highly competitive and experienced combinations.
Oscar Targett
#56 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3
“I am super excited at the opportunity to race in the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS in what is the next step of my career,” Targett said.
“Working with a successful team like Tigani Motorsport will be great for my development and I am looking forward to working with one of the best Am drivers in the country in Shane Smollen.
“I think as a whole, we have a really good package going into the top level of GT racing in Australia and I am confident that we can get some results early on in the season to build a foundation for a title charge.
“I am also excited to begin my journey in GT racing and hopefully I do enough this year to win a place at next year’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa as part of SRO GT Academy.”