Restructuring at Abt after the worst DTM season in the team’s history: Why Martin Tomczyk is no longer in charge and what happens next
Abt responds to the team’s weakest season in DTM history with a change in leadership: After the former Audi team’s disappointing first year with Lamborghini, in which champion Mirko Bortolotti was the best Abt driver, finishing only 14th in the overall standings, sporting director Martin Tomczyk will no longer be responsible for DTM operations.
This role will now be taken over again by Abt Managing Director Thomas Biermaier, who held this position before Tomczyk’s arrival in 2023. What will happen to Tomczyk now?
The former DTM champion, who ended his professional career at the end of 2021, is set to continue managing Abt’s entry in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring until May. The team is leaving open what will happen to Tomczyk after that, which does not rule out a complete separation.
Tomczyk’s explanation for leaving the DTM: “Family has been neglected”
“Thomas and I have been thinking intensively about a new team structure for Abt Sportsline over the past few weeks,” explains sporting director Tomczyk. “The decision to leave the DTM was not an easy one for me.”
The former racing driver, who served as a representative for the DTM organization ITR after ending his racing career in 2022, cites personal reasons for his retirement.
“I realized that I want more time for my family and personal projects. I went straight into management after my active career – first with Gerhard Berger, then with Abt. That’s why my family has been somewhat neglected,“ he explains. ”What happens after May 2026 remains to be seen. My full focus is now on preparing perfectly for the 24-hour race,” says Tomczyk, leaving his future open for the time being.
Collaboration with Tomczyk confirmed “until May”
Meanwhile, Biermaier makes it clear that Tomczyk’s contract as Abt’s sporting director already ended last month, but that the team does not want to do without Tomczyk’s services due to the enormous double burden in the first half of the year.
“We are in the process of positioning ourselves as best we can for 2026 and beyond and are undertaking a series of restructuring measures to this end. Preparations for the DTM and the 24-hour race will run completely parallel in the coming months and will be quite a feat for all of us. That’s why I’m very happy that Martin will continue to support us until May, even though his original contract expired in October.”
Biermaier is therefore only saying that the collaboration will continue “until May” 2026. That doesn’t sound like there are any further joint plans for the period after that.
Biermaier no longer responsible for Formula E day-to-day business
The Abt managing director, who also heads the tuning company in Kempten and has had less time for the DTM and the 24-hour project in recent years due to his dual role as Formula E team boss, is looking forward to the new era with optimism.
“It’s no secret that my heart beats for motorsport and the DTM. I’m looking forward to being more involved again. This is made possible by the changeover to Formula E, where Fred Espinos is now pulling all the strings.”
The Swiss national has been with Abt for three years and was announced at the end of October as deputy team boss of the Lola-Yamaha-Abt team in the electric racing series. Since then, Lola’s motorsport director Mark Preston has been acting as team principal, replacing Biermaier. The former Abt team principal is no longer involved in the day-to-day business of Formula E and can now focus more on the DTM. It will be interesting to see how the Lamborghini team will line up for the upcoming DTM season.
“We expect to announce further details about the team lineup and our drivers in consultation with Lamborghini in early 2026,” the team said. According to reports, it does not look as if Bortolotti will remain with the Kempten-based team after a disappointing 2025 season.
