Rutronik Announces A Strong Pro Lineup To Challenge Porsche For The Title

 

GT World Challenge

Gapteks.com - By designating three official Porsche drivers for its Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS program, Rutronik Racing has made it clear that it intends to contend at the front this season.

With the German team running two full-season vehicles instead of just one Endurance Cup entry, the 2024 campaign is expected to be a significant one. The club revealed its Pro lineup for the next season last week, after the confirmation of a Bronze Cup crew. 

Julien Andlauer will complete the three in Endurance rounds, with Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller vying for Sprint Cup honors. Rutronik, which ran Thomas Preining, Laurin Heinrich, and Dennis Olsen the previous year, has a whole new lineup this time around.

Niederhauser is a recent recruit to the Porsche team; in fact, he was just recently confirmed as an official driver after working for Audi Sport for three years. He is not, however, a newcomer to the Rutronik team; in 2019 Niederhauser won the ADAC GT Masters series while racing for the team.

The Swiss driver achieved his first-ever Endurance victory in Fanatec GT Europe in 2022 at Hockenheim. He also finished second in the 2020 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa after pursuing the winning Porsche in a thrilling race finish. 

The seasoned GT pro Müller, who made a special cameo for Rutronik at the 2021 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, will be his full-season partner. However, Müller did not complete a race lap as the vehicle was eliminated in the first hour of competition. Müller, a former Porsche Supercup winner, won his first Fanatec GT Europe race at the Nürburgring in 2020 while operating the old Porsche team Dinamic.

At 24, Andlauer is the youngest member of the team, although he has previously completed many seasons of competitive Porsche driving. The Lyonnais, who competed in every major sports car championship and won the GTE Am class at the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours, is a former Carrera Cup champion in both his own country of France and Germany. 

This will be Andlauer's first complete Fanatec GT Europe campaign, following many guest appearances in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. He competed in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2021 and 2023 alongside Rutronik. The lineup supports Dustin Blattner, Dennis Marschall, and Loek Hartog's Bronze Cup participation, which Rutronik previously revealed. The Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard on March 5–6, the first Endurance Cup round at the same location on April 5–7, and the first Sprint meeting at Brands Hatch on May 4–5, are the dates for the 2024 season's start.

Source: gt-world-challenge-europe.com