Rutronik Racing has signalled its intent to compete at the front this season by naming a trio of official Porsche drivers for its Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS programme.
The 2024 campaign is set to be a big one for the German squad as it expands from a single Endurance Cup entry to run two full-season cars. After confirming a Bronze Cup crew last week, the team has now named its Pro line-up for the coming year.
Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller will compete for Sprint Cup honours, with Julien Andlauer making up the trio at Endurance rounds. This represents an entirely new roster for Rutronik, which last year ran Thomas Preining, Laurin Heinrich and Dennis Olsen.
Niederhauser is a new addition to the Porsche family; indeed, he was announced as an official driver only a few days ago following a three-year stint with Audi Sport. But he is not new to the Rutronik squad: Niederhauser previously raced for the team in ADAC GT Masters, claiming the series title in 2019.
In Fanatec GT Europe, the Swiss driver earned his maiden Endurance win at Hockenheim in 2022 and took runner-up at the 2020 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, chasing down the winning Porsche in a dramatic conclusion to the race.
Left to right: Niederhauser, Müller and Andlauer will share the Rutronik Porsche this term
His full-season teammate will be the experienced GT ace Müller, who made a one-off appearance for Rutronik at the 2021 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – albeit without turning a racing lap after the car was eliminated during the first hour. A past Porsche Supercup champion, Müller bagged his first Fanatec GT Europe win at the Nürburgring in 2020, driving for former Porsche squad Dinamic.
Andlauer is the youngest member of the crew at 24, though he already has several seasons of high-level Porsche experience under his belt. A Carrera Cup champion in his native France and in Germany, the Lyonnais has raced in every major sports car championship and was GTE Am winner at the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours.
This will be Andlauer's first full Fanatec GT Europe campaign following a number of guest appearances at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. He has previously represented Rutronik at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2021 and 2023.
The line-up complements Rutronik's previously announced Bronze Cup entry, which will be driven by Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall and Loek Hartog. The 2024 season launches with the Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on 5/6 March, followed by the opening Endurance Cup round at the same venue (5–7 April) and the first Sprint encounter at Brands Hatch (4–5 May).
