Preining, Lietz Added to Pure Rxcing Porsche Lineup

Pure Rxcing will head into its second Pro season in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup with a revamped lineup, with a pair of Porsche works drivers joining the returning Alex Malykhin.

Malykhin will share the No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R with the Austrian pairing of Richard Lietz and Thomas Preining, who both make their returns to the championship.

Preining last contested a full Endurance Cup campaign with Rutronik Racing in 2023, while his compatriot Lietz has notably never competed in Endurance Cup outside of the blue riband CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

The Austrian has made five 24H Spa appearances since the Endurance Cup was founded in its current form, most notably winning the event with GPX Racing in 2019 and also competing for the likes of Manthey Racing, KCMG and Rutronik Racing.

His last start at Spa, and by extension GTWC Europe, came in 2022, when he shared a GPX Martini Racing Porsche with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen.

Preining and Lietz replace Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler, respectively, with the latter moving across to Schumacher CLRT instead.

All three drivers will combine their Endurance Cup duties with other programs, with Malykhin competing in the European Le Mans Series with CLX Motorsport, while Preining and Lietz drive for Manthey in DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship, respectively.