Rutronik Racing wins the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup title in a thrilling season finale in Barcelona. The Porsche team also wins the Bronze Cup.

The season finale of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup took place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Rutronik Racing from Remchingen entered two Porsche 911 GT3 R in the final of the world's largest and most important GT championship. The goal was clear: the Porsche team wanted to win the title with their top car.

The situation before the weekend was straightforward: Sven Müller, Patric Niederhauser, and Alessio Picariello were five points behind the leaders in the standings before the three-hour race. The starting position was clear and the course of action was set: the Mercedes, which traveled to Barcelona as the championship leader, had to be defeated with the best possible result.

After qualifying on Sunday morning, the Porsche with start number #96 started from tenth place on the grid. Alessio Picariello got off to a flying start and stormed into fourth place on his way into the first corner. However, during the first mandatory pit stop under safety car conditions, the car fell back into midfield. Sven Müller was able to fight his way up a few positions before Patric Niederhauser took over the car in eleventh place.

Niederhauser drove the stint of his life, gaining one place after another and pushing the Porsche up to seventh place just a few minutes before the end of the race. As the Mercedes-AMG, which had led the championship before the race, failed to score any points, Sven Müller, Patric Niederhauser, and Alessio Picariello secured the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup title in the Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R with a one-point lead. Rutronik Racing thus clinched its first major title since the 2019 ADAC GT Masters – for Porsche, it is the first title in the overall standings of the high-caliber GT3 series.

Antares Au, Loek Hartog, and DTM Rookie Champion Morris Schuring took the wheel of the team's Bronze Cup car. The Porsche started the race from 56th on the grid. But with a great strategy and a flawless performance from the three drivers, who also showed good speed, the driver trio embarked on a fascinating comeback. During the three hours of racing, the drivers moved up to twelfth place in the overall standings, winning the Bronze Cup. This is the team's second class victory of the season, after Au and Hartog won the second race of the season in Monza, Italy. The victory moved the team up to second place in the Bronze Cup standings of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

Despite this success, Rutronik Racing is not resting on its laurels, as preparations for the 2026 season are already in full swing. The Remchingen-based racing team will announce further details of its planned program for the 2026 season in due course.

Klaus Graf, Rutronik Racing team boss: "What a day for Rutronik Racing! In the end, it all worked out: after a really exciting race, which was heavily influenced by strategy, we won the Endurance Cup title. Many teams took extreme risks and were rewarded, but this would not have been possible without the safety car phase in the second stint. We decided to play it safe, which is what our title rivals did as well. Thanks to some excellent driving, we were able to move up the field again. Patric made the overtaking maneuver in the final minutes to get us into seventh place, which we needed to win the title as our rivals failed to score any points. It's our first major title since 2019. We are still a young team in the GT World Challenge Europe paddock, so I am particularly pleased with the work that the whole team, including the drivers and partners, has done. Many thanks to Rutronik, Porsche, and all our partners; it has been a really great season. I am also particularly pleased that the #97 won the Bronze Cup, rounding off our perfect day. The starting position was more than difficult, but it also showed that you can achieve a lot with a strong performance from the drivers and the entire team. I am extremely happy that we were able to secure a second victory for Antares. Thanks to this triumph, they also took second place in the Bronze Cup standings in the Endurance Cup. I am very proud of the entire team's performance this year."

Alessio Picariello, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96: "Our qualifying wasn't the best, so I knew a good start was important. I didn't really think about risk management; I knew I had to give it my all. I had a good start and was able to overtake our championship rivals right away. I was very happy with my start. We had some problems with our car throughout the weekend leading up to the race, but I was very happy during my stint. I already knew then that we had a good chance of winning the title. The whole race was an emotional rollercoaster, but in the end it was enough to win the title! In the end, consistency and teamwork paid off – we never gave up and always worked hard for the title."

Sven Müller, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96: "We had a great season, even though we didn't win any races in the Endurance Cup. We showed that the Porsche is a very good and consistent car over the distance, which is why I think we deserved the title. As Alessio said, the race was a real rollercoaster ride of emotions. When I touched the Ferrari during my stint, it was very hard for me personally. Fortunately, Porsche builds very stable cars and I didn't lose the bumper. But in the end, we managed to score enough points to win the championship. I am very happy for the team and would like to thank the entire team, who worked hard throughout the season."

Patric Niederhauser, Porsche 911 GT3 R #96: "During the safety car phase at the start of my stint, I could already see what position we were in and which cars I had to pass to finish the race in seventh place. After the restart, I was able to benefit from some of the chaos and improve my position. I was then behind Harry King in eighth place for a while and saw that he had to push hard. I knew I had to stay calm because his tires would wear out. After a few laps, I decided to overtake him, and to be honest, it wasn't easy. Knowing that I had to get past the car, I pushed very hard and gave it my all. After finishing the 24 Hours of Spa in second place, I didn't want to finish the championship in second place as well. So I gave it my all to get past him, which worked out.“

Loek Hartog, Porsche 911 GT3 R #97: ”Going into the weekend we had zero expectations and nothing to lose. We just focused on a good atmosphere and the right mentality to close out the GT World Challenge season. Qualifying wasn’t our strongest point, but we knew the race would be all about consistency. Antares had a great opening stint and after the safety car I took over in 46th, managing to overtake 23 cars and hand the car to Morris in 23rd, moving from 10th in class to 4th. Everything came together, and it felt like a real step forward in maturity and execution. Morris finished it off brilliantly, fighting hard to take P1 in class and P12 overall after post-race penalties. To finish second in the championship is more than we expected, and it’s a great reward for everyone at Rutronik Racing. The team gave us everything we needed, and it’s a privilege to work with a team like this and end the season this way."