Rutronik Racing has announced that it will continue to field a Porsche in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup this season, alongside its factory-supported Lamborghini Temerario GT3 effort.
The German outfit, which won last year’s Endurance Cup teams’ championship with Porsche, has made a high-profile switch to Lamborghini in the Pro category, where it will form part of the Temerario GT3’s maiden assault on World Challenge Europe.
In the Bronze Cup, however, the team will continue to race with Porsche for 2026, with its #97 911 GT3 R set to take on the five-round Endurance Cup with the line-up of Antares Au, Ricardo Pera and reigning overall drivers’ champion Sven Müller.
Porsche contracted driver Müller is entering his third season with Rutronik, following two years competing for outright honours in Pro. As well as last year’s Endurance Cup title, the German has helped Rutronik to a runner-up finish at the 24 Hours of Spa, and Porsche’s first-ever Sprint Cup victories.
Au is the only returnee to the #97 crew, following a successful debut campaign in the Endurance Cup last season. The 46-year-old won two races and finished as runner-up in the Bronze Cup drivers’ championship despite a costly non-score at the 24 Hours of Spa following early contact. In 2026, Au will dovetail his Endurance Cup programme with an assault on the FIA WEC with McLaren customer team Garage 59.
“I am excited to return to Rutronik Racing for a second year at this competitive series,” Au said.
“Together we achieved two victories and a vice-championship on debut in 2025. I don’t take any of this lightly, and hope we can build on the positives, evolve and achieve greater results together this season!”
Reigning FIA WEC LMGT3 drivers’ champion Pera, meanwhile, is set to contest the Endurance Cup for the first time. The 26-year-old made his series debut last season, with a one-off appearance at the 24 Hours of Spa for Porsche customer team Lionspeed GP.
Rutronik Racing team boss Klaus Graf said, “I am delighted that Antares Au has once again placed his trust in Rutronik Racing and that we will be competing together again this year in the highly competitive Bronze Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. We narrowly missed out on the title last year and would like to build on last year’s successes this year.
“Continuing the project means that we will be competing with two different manufacturers this year. At this point, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Porsche and Lamborghini for their cooperative collaboration, which makes this possible within the Rutronik Racing team. The continuation of our collaboration with Sven Müller, who has enjoyed great success with Rutronik Racing over the past two years, will certainly be a great added value. I am particularly pleased that he will be supporting Antares in the races this year!”
The 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup begins at Circuit Paul Ricard on 10th to 11th April 2026, with a six-hour race.
Image courtesy of SRO/JEP
