Rutronik Racing is starting the fourth race weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup with ambitious goals.

There was hardly any time to rest for Rutronik Racing before the fourth race weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup in Magny-Cours. The guest appearance on the former French Grand Prix circuit takes place just two weeks after the last race weekend in Misano. As usual, Rutronik Racing will be fielding two Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The top car of the Remchingen-based team will be driven by Porsche contracted drivers Sven Müller and Patric Niederhauser, who have already enjoyed many successes with Rutronik Racing. The fast Dutch driver Loek Hartog will be starting alongside Eshan Pieris from Sri Lanka in the team's Silver Cup car.

Last year, Müller and Niederhauser initially won the first race on the circuit. However, a time penalty imposed the following morning for an unsafe release saw the duo slip back to third place. The team celebrated a class victory in the Bronze Cup.

Rutronik Racing has had an extremely successful season so far, with the team celebrating a podium finish every race weekend. Together with Alessio Picariello, Müller and Niederhauser took second place at the 24h Spa and also at the Endurance Cup season opener in Le Castellet. In the Sprint Cup, the duo celebrated a victory in Zandvoort and secured further podium finishes in Brands Hatch and Misano. In the combined overall standings from the Sprint and Endurance Cups, the two drivers currently occupy third place in the championship, just 8.5 points behind the leaders. In the Sprint Cup standings, the two drivers are fourth in the championship, 7.5 points behind.

Rutronik Racing tested on the circuit in the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region before the season, which was particularly beneficial for Eshan Pieris. The driver, who enjoyed success in last year's GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, has never raced on European circuits before. Another three-hour test on Thursday will help Pieris get used to the track.

As was the case recently in Misano, Saturday's race will take place in the dark, which will make for spectacular images and a special atmosphere. This will be a particular challenge for drivers and teams alike.

The two races of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup in Magny-Cours will start on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. and on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. The racing series will broadcast the races in various languages, including German and English, via the official livestream on YouTube. The ten-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. and on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. will also be broadcast there.

Klaus Graf, Team Principal Rutronik Racing: "Another intense Sprint Cup weekend lies ahead of us at Magny Cours. The track in the heart of France is extremely demanding to drive and should suit our Porsche 911 GTR. We were already fully competitive with both cars last year. The battle for the titles remains very close, and we need to score maximum points with the #96 again.
Eshan is finally getting to drive on a track where he has already tested, so we want to build on the good results with the #97 car."

Sven Müller, driver of the Porsche 911 GT3 R #96: "I'm delighted to be back on the grid with Rutronik Racing! Unfortunately, we didn't manage to score as many points last weekend, but the championship standings are very close and we're only a few points off first place. Last year, things went very well at Magny-Cours. The track suits the Porsche, so in theory we should have a good weekend. We are highly motivated to achieve a good result, as last year went really well there. We had a victory on the track, which was unfortunately disallowed afterwards, and the car handled superbly there. So we are looking forward to the weekend. The test on Thursday will give us plenty of time to fine-tune the car. Patric and I are in great shape, so it should be a good weekend!"

Loek Hartog, driver of the Porsche 911 GT3 R #97: "I'm looking forward to my first race at Magny-Cours – another new track that I have to learn, but that's part of the fun this year. After a difficult race in Misano, I'm determined to come back stronger. The start of the season hasn't been entirely smooth, but we've made significant progress with every lap. Eshan and I are working hard to get the most out of our package, and hopefully we can get a result this weekend that reflects the efforts of the entire #97 crew."