Rutronik Racing will launch another bid for overall title glory this term with a trio of Porsche factory drivers sharing its 911 GT3 R.
The German squad entered a full-season Pro car last year, scoring a maiden win in the season-closing Sprint event at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The #96 Porsche also earned pole for the Endurance Cup round at the Nürburgring only to be taken out of contention on the opening lap.
Last year's full-season pairing of Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller are retained for 2025. The Swiss-German duo will be among the favourites for the Sprint Cup title, having made significant gains throughout 2024 and capped the year with a breakthrough victory in Spain.
The Endurance line-up will be completed by Alessio Picariello, who takes over from fellow Porsche ace Julien Andlauer. The experienced Belgian is no stranger to the GT World Challenge Europe paddock having made his series debut in 2016. Picariello was also part of the line-up that scored Porsche's most recent Endurance Cup victory, triumphing with Dinamic Motorsport at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in 2022.
"We start with great anticipation in our third season in the GT World Challenge Europe together with Rutronik, Porsche and all our partners," said Rutronik Racing team principal Klaus Graf. "We have worked very hard over the winter, significantly strengthened our team again and set the course for a strong challenge for race wins and the title.
"As in previous years, the competition is extremely strong and our goal from the start of the season will be to establish ourselves in the front ranks. With Sven and Patric, we have a very strong and very experienced driver pairing for the whole season. Our results at the end of the season provided impressive proof of this.
"In Alessio, we welcome a top Porsche works driver for the Endurance races to our ranks. I am convinced that he will integrate seamlessly into our team," he concluded.
Last week, Rutronik Racing announced plans for the sister #97 Porsche to enter the Sprint Cup in the Silver class. The returning Loek Hartog and GT World Challenge Europe newcomer Eshan Pieris will share the German squad's car in the short-format series, while a complementary Endurance programme is also anticipated for 2025.
The team will be present for the Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on 10–11 March. The French venue hosts the season-opening Endurance Cup race on 11–13 April, while the Sprint schedule kicks off at Brands Hatch on 3/4 May.