At the fifth round of the DTM season at the Nürburgring from 8 to 10 August, the TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT supported by Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse enjoyed a solid weekend with several highlights. Luca Engstler impressed with a strong qualifying performance and scored points in both races in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Teammate Jordan Pepper also had two strong races and defended his third place in the drivers‘ championship.

 

In the first qualifying session on Saturday, Engstler demonstrated that the TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT would be a force to be reckoned with at the Nürburgring. The German driver put the #19 car in third place on the grid, just 0.057 seconds off pole position. At the start, Engstler immediately gained another position but suffered minor damage due to contact and fell back to seventh place over the course of the 60-minute race. Teammate Pepper got off to a great start and had already moved up from ninth to fifth place after just a few laps. With an impressive overtaking manoeuvre, Pepper squeezed past his rival in the final chicane and took fourth place.

 

On Sunday, it was Pepper who impressed in qualifying. The South African drove the #63 car to the fourth fastest time. However, as he had received his third warning of the season the day before, Pepper was dropped five places on the starting grid and started the race from ninth place. He defended this position until the finish line despite approaching competitors and secured important points. Engstler had a difficult qualifying session, in which he could not get beyond 20th place. The 25-year-old showed fighting spirit, even though he temporarily fell to the back of the field after receiving a penalty. He crossed the finish line in 13th place, securing points in both races.

 

However, the winner of the Nürburgring weekend was the Grasser pit stop crew. They completed all four tyre changes in Sunday’s race in under seven seconds – something no other team in the entire DTM field managed to achieve. The fastest stop was recorded for the #63 Lamborghini in 6.601 seconds, followed by 6.642 seconds for its sister car, the #19. The other two stops were only marginally slower.

 

With three race weekends remaining in the 2025 DTM season, Pepper is still in a promising third place overall. The 29-year-old has 122 points to his name – just 17 separate him from the top of the standings. The TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT supported by Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse has strengthened its fifth place in the highly competitive team standings with the important points from the Nürburgring.

 

The action continues this coming Sunday (17 August) with a DTM test day at the Sachsenring. The race weekend at the Oberlungwitz circuit is scheduled just a few days later, from 22 to 24 August.

Jordan Pepper (RSA)

#63 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT

Qualifying 1: P9 – Race 1: P4

Qualifying 2: P4 (+5) – Race 2: P9

 

Jordan Pepper: “Not the weekend we had hoped for, but the trend was positive. On Saturday, we were behind due to my difficulties in qualifying, but we fought back incredibly well in the race. Qualifying on Sunday was great, but unfortunately we were hampered by the grid penalty. I was very optimistic after race one, but somehow we lacked pace in the second race. It was a really hard-fought ninth place for the championship. We’re still right in the mix there. Special praise goes to our crew for four phenomenal pit stops on Sunday and my good one on Saturday – I’m delighted that their hard work is now paying off. Now we have a very important test at the Sachsenring coming up, which we need to make the most of so that we’re fully prepared for the weekend there.”

 

Luca Engstler (GER)

#19 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT

Qualifying 1: P3 – Race 1: P7

Qualifying 2: P20 – Race 2: P13

 

Luca Engstler: “Overall, it was a positive weekend. My highlight was, of course, third place in Saturday’s qualifying, even though the race was more difficult. Nevertheless, I’m happy with how everything went. We got the most out of our package and scored points in both races. A big thank you to our guys, they did a fantastic job with the pit stops on Sunday. We need to see where things didn’t go so well at the Nürburgring, but we have more testing coming up straight away and the next race is in just under two weeks.”

 

Gottfried Grasser, Team Principal GRT: “It wasn’t an easy weekend; we had hoped for a little more. We got off to a good start with Luca in third place on the grid, but unfortunately he had a minor collision at the start and fell back a little. Jordan had great pace in Saturday’s race and managed to fight his way up to fourth place. His performance in Sunday’s qualifying was also great – despite five kilos more ballast after the BoP adjustment. It’s a shame that he had to start from ninth place due to the penalty, but he sensationally held on to that position until the finish. Luca showed iron will from the back of the grid and was rewarded with 13th place. The highlight for me was our crew. The guys gave their all and delivered one of our best pit stops ever. Now it’s paying off that they’ve learned and trained so much, which makes me really proud. A big thank you for that. Now we will analyse what we need to improve before the Sachsenring.”