GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS officially kicked off its Sydney Motorsport Park campaign on Friday morning, with the opening session of the weekend providing an early glimpse at the pace ahead of the fifth round of the 2026 season.
Taking out top spot for the session was the Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti, with Ojeda setting the benchmark aboard the Mercedes-AMG with a 1:26.2939 on his 11th lap.
Finishing second fastest for the session was the Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser, with Peroni setting the early pace before eventually being replaced by Ojeda. The Team BRM entry's best time of 1:26.4972 left it just over two tenths of a second away from the session leaders.
Rounding out the top three was the Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Oscar Targett and Shane Smollen, with their best time of 1:26.5325 leaving them also close to the outright pace.
The second Team BRM entry completed the top four, with Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks recording a 1:26.5970 aboard their Team BRM / Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS EVO II. The pair finished just over three tenths behind the session-leading Mercedes-AMG.
Completing the top five was the ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3 of Jaxon Evans and Elliot Schutte, with the duo producing a 1:26.6852 less than four tenths away from Ojeda and Lucchitti.
In the Trophy Class, AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport's Luke Youlden and Nathan Halstead led the way after guiding their Porsche 911 GT3 R to 10th outright on the timesheets.
The pair's 1:27.1940 was more than enough to give them early confidence as they ended up more than one second ahead of the #24 KFC Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Paul Stokell and Matt Stoupas.
The opening session of the weekend was interrupted by a red flag, but all cars managed to complete the session without any major problems.
With less than four tenthsof a second separating the top five, the opening session provided a close start to the Sydney Motorsport Park weekend.
View the full times for Practice 1 here.
The next session for GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS is the Bronze Practice session at 1:30pm AEST.