Leitch to Join Pires in Tigani Mercedes-AMG

Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires have become the first drivers to confirm their GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS entry for the 2026 season.

Leitch will join Pires at Tigani Motorsport in the Geyer Valmont Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

The news comes after the Australian squad, which recently took over Mercedes-AMG’s regional parts and support role from Triple Eight, claimed Pro-Am class honors in last weekend’s Gulf 12 Hours, in its first race outside of its home country.

It marks a full-time return to GTWC Australia for Leitch, who suspended his 2025 program after the sudden passing of his teammate Tim Miles.

“It was actually the Sandown weekend after Tim sadly died that Nathan Tigani (team principal) and Matt Harvey (technical director) said they were interested in meeting,” said Leitch.

“They said they were pretty impressed with how Tim and I had gone to that point, and made it clear that I’d made their life a bit hard for them.

“It was very reassuring to have Nathan and Matt show that much interest in having me onboard so early on. I’m big on loyalty, and because they were so committed to me from the outset I wanted to commit myself to them too.

“I’m really looking forward to working closely with Sergio and the Tigani team. We’ve started that relationship off the best way possible by winning our class at the Gulf 12 Hours. That’s a statement of intent.

“I’ve got unfinished business in Australia. I know that with the Tigani crew that Sergio and I can be race winners and vying for that championship come Adelaide.”

Pires, meanwhile, also had to cut his 2025 GTWC Australia campaign short due to a knee injury that required surgery.

“We kicked off our racing relationship in the best way possible with a huge win in Abu Dhabi and I think a championship win is a realistic target for us next year,” he said.

“Brendon is a world-class driver and most importantly a good bloke. I will be working hard to hold up my end of the bargain.”

Nathan Tigani added: “I’m really looking forward to see what Brendon will bring to the team. We got a glimpse of it at Abu Dhabi, helping us to win our class at the Gulf 12 Hours.

“It was impressive how quickly he was able to get up to speed in the Mercedes-AMG, which should come as too much of a surprised considering how many different cars he has driven over the past two or three years.

“I firmly believe that other teams should be looking at Brendon and Sergio as a serious threat for the title next year. I know I can’t want for the first round at Phillip Island.”

The 2026 GTWC Australia season kicks off  at Phillip Island on March 27-29.