• Lionspeed GP adds Sprint Cup program for second season in GTWC Europe
• Team to field two Porsche 911 GT3 R for Rindone-Feller and Mardini-Buus
• Rindone & Feller to field Lionspeeds full Bronze Championship campaign, aiming for the Le Mans invite for 2026.

Lionspeed GP will expand its presence in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, by entering two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs in the Sprint Cup. The effort, featuring a mix of experienced Bronze drivers and accomplished Porsche professionals, will debut at the second round at Zandvoort on May 16-18.

The two-car program will mark a new chapter for the German squad, which made its GTWC Europe debut last year and will also continue in the Endurance Cup with Feller/ Rindone who are joined by Team Principle Patrick Kolb. In the highly competitive Sprint Cup series, two drivers will share a car across the weekend for two 60-minute races including a mandatory pitstop and driver change in the middle.

Lionspeed will compete with both cars in the Bronze Cup category, which has been designed in the spirit of Pro-Am racing, where a Bronze-rated racer teams up with a professional driver. Paddock space restrictions mean that the Bronze Cup competitors will not form part of the grid for the season opener in Brands Hatch. Therefore, Lionspeed kicks off its Sprint Cup campaign at round two of the season, held at Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands on May 16-18.

The team has enlisted a quartet of familiar faces to form its driver lineup. Gabriel Rindone (UAE) and Ricardo Feller (CHE), teammates in Endurance Cup, will share the No. 80 car that has been decked out in Lionspeed’s trademark red and white. The sister No. 89 Porsche, meanwhile, features a blue and white color scheme and will be driven by Bashar Mardini (CAN) and Bastian Buus (DEN).

“Entering GT World Challenge Sprint next to our endurance program is the natural next step after our successful maiden season with SRO in 2024 as an independent team. Especially with our teams’ focus on the highly competitive Bronze Cup, adding the Sprint enables us as the only Porsche Team to compete for the highly desirable Le Mans entry for 2026. We not only have strong bronze drivers with Gabi and Bash, but also are excited to have two Sprint experienced Porsche contracted drivers with Ricardo and Bastian.” – Patrick Kolb, Team Principle.

Mardini and Buus will both make their Sprint Cup debuts, but each driver already has some experience racing in a two-driver format. Last year, Mardini raced in International GT Open and the Asian Le Mans Series while Buus competed in GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, with the championships running races in a similar style.

Both drivers return to Lionspeed after making their team debuts last year. Mardini, the Bronze-rated driver in the pairing, first joined the team at the Lenovo Gulf 12 Hours last December. Since then, he raced Porsche machinery in both the Michelin 24H Dubai as well as the Asian Le Mans Series.

“2025 brings a new campaign at the highest level of GT racing,” said Mardini. “I am extremely motivated for GT World Challenge Sprint with Lionspeed and my teammate Bastian Buus. The opener at Zandvoort will be a mega event.”

Buus rejoins the team after an impressive debut campaign in the Endurance Cup last year. The 21-year-old Dane, a former Porsche Supercup champion, enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign with Lionspeed that included a class podium at the Nürburgring and a strong showing during the season finale in Jeddah that saw him set the third-fastest lap time of any driver in the field and the quickest in Bronze Cup.

“I’m very excited to be back with the team again for another year,” said Buus. “It was great last year, always nice to be back with the same nice people again and continue where we finished off in 2024. I think we had great development and it’s nice that we can build on that. Racing with Bashar, whom I know him from my previous time in Porsche Carrera Cup and the Porsche Supercup. We were competitors back then and it’s nice to be in the same car together. I’m sure we’ll be able to score some good results, make good progress during the year and hopefully fight at the front.”

Aboard the No. 80 car, meanwhile, Rindone and Feller will team up to complement the Endurance Cup campaign they will embark on with Lionspeed. By contesting all nine rounds of the combined Championship, the duo can secure an automatic invitation to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is given out to the best overall entry in the Bronze Cup entry.

“Together with Ricardo, we have what it takes to be super competitive to fight for wins in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup,” says Rindone. “We will also be looking to add valuable points as full entry competitors for the overall title. Bring it on!”

Feller added: “We have one eye on the Le Mans ticket. The goal, for sure, is to win the combined Sprint and Endurance Bronze Championship and thereby get the invitation.”