After a disappointing year at Abt, Mirko Bortolotti returns to Grasser: Did Lamborghini have to react in order not to lose the top Austrian team?
What is behind Mirko Bortolotti’s move from Abt to the Grasser team? The 2024 DTM champion was delegated from Lamborghini to the Kempten-based team after Abt’s brand change a year ago, but the season turned into a fiasco: Bortolotti, considered the fastest man in the Lamborghini squad, could not finish higher than sixth and ended up 14th in the overall standings, while Abt experienced the worst DTM season in the team’s history.
Now Bortolotti is returning to the Grasser team, which was clearly the number one Lamborghini team in the DTM last year and fought for the title with Jordan Pepper until the very end. But how does the manufacturer explain the 36-year-old Italian’s move to the team of his long-time companion Gottfried Grasser?
“The decision to send Lamborghini factory driver Mirko Bortolotti to Grasser Racing is based on a mutual commitment with the driver to work with the same team in both the GT World Challenge and the DTM,”
Lamborghini argues for “continuity” with Grasser team
“This strategic orientation ensures continuity and the closest possible cooperation between the two racing programs,” continues Sant’Agata Bolognese.
In fact, Bortolotti will be competing for the Grasser team in the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWCE) endurance series this year in addition to the DTM. He will be doing so alongside his new DTM teammate Maximilian Paul and fellow factory driver Franck Perera.
It is interesting to note that Bortolotti also competed in the five GTWCE endurance races for Grasser last year, but drove for Abt in the DTM. At that time, however, Grasser was also competing in the sprint series in addition to the endurance series, in which Bortolotti was the third driver: Grasser’s DTM teammates at the time, Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler, competed for Grasser in both GTWCE series.
Bortolotti as an incentive for Grasser to stay with Lamborghini?
But is that the only reason for Bortolotti’s move? After the 2025 DTM season finale, there was speculation that Grasser might leave Lamborghini. “It definitely has to be a package of drivers and cars that makes sense and with which we can celebrate success.”
Pepper’s move to BMW meant that the team lost its new discovery of the season, Bortolotti, who was still an Abt driver at the time. So could there be a connection between the rumors at the time about Grasser changing brands and Bortolotti’s return to the team?
And did Lamborghini try to keep the Austrian team on board for 2026 by promising it Bortolotti for the DTM project? “There is no connection between this decision and the rumors that Grasser Racing could change manufacturers for the 2026 season,” replied a Lamborghini spokesperson.
New contract “on a multi-year basis”
“The agreement with the team was originally set to expire at the end of 2025 and has now been extended on a multi-year basis, reflecting the team’s strong confidence in the Temerario GT3 project and its long-term partnership with Lamborghini,” the spokesperson adds.
According to this, the Grasser contract with Lamborghini has been extended not just by one year, but by several years, which means that a change of brand would be off the table even after the first year with the new Temerario GT3.
Grasser was not available for comment on this matter, but the return of Bortolotti, who was involved in 19 of Grasser’s 27 victories, certainly did not hurt the contract extension with Lamborghini.