Lionspeed GP has confirmed plans to return to the GT World Endurance grid this season with a trio of experienced drivers sharing its #89 Porsche.
The German squad made its series debut in 2024 with a single-car Endurance programme before adding a pair of Sprint entries in 2025.
The expansion paid off, with Bashar Mardini and Bastian Buus (pictured below) taking Bronze Cup runner-up spot in Sprint, while the team finished second in the full-season Bronze Cup standings.
Mardini returns to the team for what will be his Endurance debut. The Canadian will be joined by Alex Fontana – a GT World veteran whose C.V. includes five titles across the Silver Cup and Pro-Am classes – and team principal Patrick Kolb, who remains on board for a third straight season.
"I’ve already raced with Alex before and we’re a very good pairing," commented Mardini. "We did a GT Open race together in Monza and we won it very convincingly.
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"We have some good testing in mind," he added. "I think we're going to be more prepared this year than I was last year at this time.”
“I have a few titles there in Pro-Am and Silver Cup, but it’s been a few years since I’ve done the full Endurance seaso," said Fontana.
"Lionspeed is a benchmark team in SRO competition, especially within the Porsche world. Therefore it’s really nice to join this combination in the highest level championship with one of the best teams out there.”
The #89 Porsche is set to retain the same red, white and blue colourscheme that it carried into battle last term. Lionspeed GP is expected to add further entries before the 2026 GT World season gets underway at Circuit Paul Ricard on the weekend of 11/12 April, preceded by the official Prologue on 8/9 April.
The opening Sprint Cup contest will take place at Brands Hatch on 2/3 May. Tickets for both of these events and others – including the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – are on sale now. Click here for more information.
