Great success for Rutronik Racing: The Porsche team from Remchingen celebrated its first victory of the season in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup in Zandvoort.

The second race weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup took place on the popular dune circuit in Zandvoort on the Dutch North Sea coast. Rutronik Racing travelled to the Netherlands with two Porsche 911 GT3 R cars. The two Porsche aces Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller took to the grid in the top car, while local hero Loek Hartog and Eshan Pieris drove for the team in the Silver Cup.

After a strong qualifying performance, Patric Niederhauser started the first race from third on the grid. The Swiss driver got off to a good start and remained in a promising position, making no mistakes in a chaotic opening phase. Thanks to a good pit stop strategy and perfect work by the pit crew, the team took the lead during the mandatory pit stop. In the final stint, Sven Müller controlled the action at Zandvoort and ultimately drove to a commanding victory. This is the first victory of the season for the team led by former racing driver Klaus Graf and their second triumph in the world's strongest GT racing series – Niederhauser and Müller already secured a race win in Barcelona in 2024. It is also only the second victory for a Porsche in the long history of the Sprint Cup, both of which were achieved by Rutronik Racing.

Niederhauser and Müller also scored important points on Sunday. In a hard-fought race, the two long-standing Rutronilk Racing drivers finished fifth, earning them another six points for the championship. In recent years, it has become clear that consistency is the key to success in the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS.

Eshan Pieris learned a lot in the team's Silver Cup car. The driver from Sri Lanka travelled to the demanding dune circuit in the Netherlands without much experience and made great progress over the weekend. It was clear to the entire team before the weekend that Pieris' learning curve would once again be the main focus. His teammate, local hero Loek Hartog, was an important source of support for him, impressing with fast lap times and providing his partner with important tips and tricks. The duo finished the races in fifth and tenth place in the Silver Cup.

After two of five race weekends, Patric Niederhauser and Sven Müller are second in the overall standings of the GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup. They are only 4.5 points behind the leaders. The two Porsche drivers are also second in the overall standings of the Sprint and Endurance Cup. Loek Hartog and Eshan Pieris are seventh in the Silver Cup standings. The Sprint Cup continues in mid-July in Misano, Italy. Before that, the international GT3 series will be in action in two weeks' time in Monza, when the Endurance Cup visits the high-speed circuit in northern Italy.

Klaus Graf, Team Principal Rutronik Racing: ‘We are very happy with the weekend in Zandvoort! We put in an extremely good performance with Saturday's victory and executed the race perfectly. Patric laid the foundation with a very good qualifying result, and we then worked well strategically in the race. The crew and drivers did a flawless job and thoroughly deserved the victory. With a top 5 finish in the second race, we achieved another good result, so I am extremely satisfied with the #96 this weekend. You can't always win. Due to the battles in the first half of the race, we were a bit unlucky on Sunday and had to change our strategy slightly, which put us at a bit of a disadvantage, but we were still able to achieve another good result with fifth place. Eshan knew it was going to be another difficult weekend because he hadn't driven here before and the track is very challenging. But he clocked up a lot of kilometres over the weekend and learned a lot. So he's gained a lot of experience and will take a lot with him to the next races. Loek did a great job throughout the weekend and was very fast. They also scored good points, so the two of them are definitely on the right track!’

Patric Niederhauser, driver of the Porsche 911 GT3 R #96: ‘It was a very, very successful weekend for us! The victory on Saturday was the absolute highlight! I was extremely happy that we won at Zandvoort. After a rather difficult Friday, we were able to turn things around and strike back in qualifying on Saturday morning. The team made the right moves overnight and got the car perfect for qualifying, which was crucial.’

Eshan Pieris, driver of the Porsche 911 GT3 R #97: ‘Another race weekend with Rutronik Racing has come to an end, and I have gained a lot of experience in this racing series again. The result of the races is not quite what I would have liked, but I have gained important experience that I can build on next weekend. Many thanks to the team for the great car. I am hungry for the next race in Misano.’