– Is Mirko Bortolotti’s DTM championship setup from SSR Performance from the 2024 season currently forming at Grasser? One could get this impression when looking into the garage of the Lamborghini team, which is currently preparing for the upcoming DTM season with the new Temerario GT3.
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Because as Motorsport-Total.com has learned, team boss Gottfried Grasser secured the services of Tom Schuster over the winter, who served as Maximilian Paul’s race engineer at the Lamborghini team Paul Motorsport in 2025.
Schuster will take on the role of overall performance engineer at Grasser, responsible for both cars. He already held this function in 2024, when he was responsible for Nicki Thiim and Bortolotti at SSR Performance and became DTM champion with the Vienna-based Italian.
Grasser secures services of ex-SSR data specialist
Schuster is considered a data specialist. “His greatest strength is data analysis,” says an insider. “He is incredibly valuable when it comes to comparing the drivers’ statements with the data because he looks very deeply into it. He also carries out simulations in the background.”
Maximilian Paul was also convinced of Schuster’s strengths last year. “He is absolutely organized, structured, gives a clear yes and no – and no ‘I heard once’ or ‘maybe’.”
Bortolotti and champion race engineer reunited
In 2026, Schuster will not only work again with Bortolotti, who returns to Grasser after the disappointing Abt season, but also with David Grabengießer. It was Grabengießer who guided Bortolotti to the title as race engineer at SSR Performance in 2024.
The SSR team boss at the time, Mario Schuhbauer, who is the new DTM director at the Aston Martin team Comtoyou, describes him as an “absolute key person”.
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When the Lamborghini team announced its DTM exit after Bortolotti’s title, Grasser stepped in and brought the 39-year-old from Erfurt on board. Grabengießer, who works closely with Lamborghini specialist Gottfried Grasser, was initially responsible for Jordan Pepper as race engineer in 2025 and fought for the DTM title with the South African until the very end.
After Pepper’s move to BMW, the collaboration with Bortolotti is now being revived, with whom he already harmonized excellently in 2024. The top Lamborghini driver has specific preferences when it comes to car setup and is known for liking to go his own way. So it’s no disadvantage that the two are already well-attuned to each other.
Bortolotti’s SSR chief mechanic also at Grasser
But Bortolotti, Grabengießer, and Schuster are not the only former SSR key performers at the Grasser team: Austrian Thomas Stranimeier – chief mechanic on Bortolotti’s SSR Lamborghini in his championship year – has also been working for the Grasser team again since last year.
The 27-year-old, who worked for the team based near the Red Bull Ring even before his time at SSR, will again be chief mechanic for Bortolotti’s Temerario GT3 in 2026. (SPONSORED LINK: Secure tickets for the 2026 DTM season now!)
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Despite the familiar environment, the year 2026 means new territory for all four: this is due to the Temerario GT3, which replaces the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 this year after ten years, with which the Grasser squad had more experience than any other team. It remains to be seen how the change will affect the balance of power between the Lamborghini teams Grasser and Abt.
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