Porsche driver Engelhart to race Grasser Lamborghini in DTM finale

Engelhart, who split with Toksport WRT after the first half of the 2023 campaign, will team up with Clemen Schmid in the pair of races at Hockenheim on October 21-22, replacing Andrea Caldarelli in Grasser’s two-car line-up.

Caldarelli, who was called in by Grasser to take part at the Red Bull Ring to take the second seat that was previously occupied by Mick Wishofer and then Maximilian Paul, is unable to compete at Hockenheim due to clashing LMDh testing commitments with Lamborghini.

Engelhart has a long history with GRT during his time as a factory Lamborghini driver, with the two winning a total of 14 races together in a wide variety of championships around the world, with a GTD success in the 2019 Daytona 24 Hours the highlight of their partnership.

The German has been out of drive since his surprise split with Porsche outfit Toksport after Nurburgring, which marked the end of a short but successful stint that yielded victory in the second race at Oschersleben.

Andrea Caldarelli, Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Engelhart thanked Porsche for letting him compete for rival manufacturer Lamborghini, given the two are currently locked in a tight scrap for the championship with their respective works drivers Thomas Preining and Mirko Bortolotti. 

"Returning to my Grasser Racing family for Hockenheim is a great feeling!,” said the 36-year-old. “We have already celebrated great successes together in the past. Now to compete together in the DTM is a highlight for us. 

“At the same time, my special thanks go to Porsche, who gave me the green light for this project. The challenge to get used to the new Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 in a very short time is enormous, so I’m now fully focused on the job ahead."

Grasser has enjoyed limited success in DTM since downscaling its programme from four cars to two this year and losing star driver Bortolotti to SSR Performance, but the squad claimed an impressive win at the Nurburgring with Paul at the wheel of its Huracan GT3.

Team boss Gottfried Grasser said of Engehlart’s appointment: "We are very happy to contest the season finale with Christian and it means a lot to us to have GGMT Revolution on board again as a partner at Hockenheim. 

“We have achieved fantastic milestones with Christian and he had been part of the Lamborghini family for a long time. We have always maintained a friendly relationship even after our years together and it is great to see him back in our car. 

“We are definitely optimistic about the weekend because we know that our drivers are strong at Hockenheim. With Christian, we won there several times in the ADAC GT Masters and Clemens did really well in the DTM last year.”