– The decision has been made: Christian Engelhart will make his comeback in the DTM with the Grasser team at the Nürburgring. The 39-year-old from Starnberg will pilot the Lamborghini Temerario with the starting number 19 as a replacement for the injured Maximilian Paul, which could not be used initially after the Norisring horror accident in Oschersleben.
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But the Grasser team has bought a new chassis, which means Mirko Bortolotti will have a teammate again and Engelhart returns to the DTM after two years. “We made this choice together with Lamborghini, and I am very pleased that Christian is back with us in the DTM cockpit,” says team boss Gottfried Grasser.
The decision, which was made at the end of last week, is quite surprising, as candidates like Franck Perera and Patric Niederhauser have significantly more experience with the new Temerario GT3. However, Engelhart also knows the car from numerous test drives and won a DTM race in 2023 in Oschersleben – in the Toksport-WRT Porsche.
“Feels somewhat like coming home”
And he has already celebrated great successes with the Grasser team, including the 2017 endurance title in the Blancpain GT Series (now GT World Challenge Europe) and the 2019 victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the GTD class as well as second place in the ADAC GT Masters, when he shared the Grasser Lamborghini with Bortolotti, with whom he gets along well.
In 2024, he started the DTM season as a regular Grasser driver but had to undergo surgery during the season due to a knee injury and give up his cockpit – now the 2021 GT Masters champion returns after 17 DTM starts, ironically due to a colleague’s leg injury.
“I am very excited to start again in the DTM – together with GRT and Lamborghini. I associate many successful career moments with this team and this brand,” says Engelhart, who drove for the Konrad team this year at the 24h race at the Nürburgring and in the Nürburgring Endurance Series.
“It feels somewhat like coming home. At the same time, I wish Max a speedy recovery. I will do everything I can to represent him well and support Lamborghini and the Grasser Racing Team at the Nürburgring as best as possible.” (SPONSORED LINK: Secure tickets now for the 2026 DTM season!)
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Paul back in the Grasser Lamborghini in just 13 days?
It cannot be ruled out that this is a short comeback. According to team boss Grasser, Maximilian Paul, who broke his left shin and calf bone and suffered a lumbar vertebra fracture a little over a month ago, is making remarkable progress and it is possible that he will make a race comeback already at the Sachsenring weekend (September 11 – 13).
“Max is on a good recovery path, and I believe and hope that we will see Max back in the car at the next test,” announces Grasser. He is referring to the official DTM test at the Sachsenring, which takes place on August 23.
This would mean that Paul returns to the Grasser Lamborghini only 50 days after the accident in Nuremberg, which would be a big surprise considering the serious injuries.
Will Paul still race four DTM races this year?
“In this situation, a test is very important,” explains Grasser. “You only see in the car how you really feel.” Apart from that, it is “also very important for the mind” to get back into the car quickly, says the team boss, who himself recently sat in a race car in the ADAC GT Masters. If the test goes as planned, a race start at the Sachsenring is even conceivable.
Grasser is also impressed by the rapid recovery progress of his driver. “It is incredible how he is making this recovery,” he says. Originally, the hope was that Paul could return to the Grasser Lamborghini at the season finale in Hockenheim, but the progress in rehab is greater than expected.
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The biggest challenge is that drivers press the brake pedal with more than 100 kilograms of force – and with the left foot, which Paul injured.
