The sixth race weekend of the DTM at the Sachsenring was an event with ups and downs for the TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT supported by Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse. On the longestablished circuit near Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Jordan Pepper took pole position for the first race in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 #63 and scored important points in the championship battle with second place in the race. Teammate Luca Engstler in the #19 car finished in the points in both races. Jordan Pepper underlined his title ambitions in qualifying for race one on Saturday morning. With a lap time of 1:16.826 minutes, the South African confidently took pole position and beat the previous qualifying record on the Saxon up-and-down track by almost four tenths of a second. Luca Engstler rounded off a strong qualifying session with an excellent fourth place on the grid. At the start of race one on a rain-soaked track, Pepper defended his lead and extended it further until the pit stop. As the track dried up, all cars switched to slick tyres during the pit stop. Even after the end of the pit stop window, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 #63 remained in the lead, but had to fend off attacks from its competitors. A safety car phase shortly before the end of the race and renewed rain after the restart made for a turbulent final phase. Pepper initially lost the lead in the final laps, but launched a decisive attack on the last lap. Due to an unforced contact during this move, Pepper was forced off the racing line. However, the #63 car remained in second place, securing valuable points in the championship battle. Luca Engstler in the #19 sister car also defended fourth place overall for much of the race, but dropped back a few positions after an unforced incident following the safety car and crossed the finish line in eleventh place. Jordan Pepper also had high hopes of a top finish in the second race, starting from fourth on the grid. After the race got underway, Pepper initially settled into fifth place and continued to battle for a podium finish in a hard-fought race. After the first of two mandatory pit stops, Jordan Pepper continued to battle for the front positions, but had to head for the pits after suffering a puncture following unforced contact with another car was forced to retire from the race. Luca Engstler, on the other hand, started a strong comeback from 21st place after a rather mixed qualifying session. In the 55-minute race, Engstler made up nine positions in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 #19 and finished race two in twelfth place, which was rewarded with four championship points. Ahead of the Grasser Racing Team’s DTM home race at the Red Bull Ring, Jordan Pepper is fourth in the championship standings with 145 points – level on points with the third-placed driver and just six points behind the leader. The TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT supported by Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse remains in fifth place in the team standings. The penultimate race weekend of the DTM at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg from 12 to 14 September will herald the decisive phase of the championship.

Jordan Pepper (RSA)

#63 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT

Qualifying 1: P1 – Race 1: P2

Qualifying 2: P4 – Race 2: DNF

Jordan Pepper: „I’m going home with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there’s the success on Saturday with pole position and the lap record, where the team gave me a great car. Then there’s second place in the race. We had hoped for victory, of course, but given the circumstances, second place is a great result. Sunday also started very well with fourth place in qualifying. Unfortunately, I had to retire the car with a puncture after an incident, which is a real shame. Nevertheless, we are still up there in the championship. I am really proud of the whole team, who once again worked incredibly hard throughout the weekend. I am looking forward to the team’s home race at the Red Bull Ring, where I hope we will be successful again.“

Luca Engstler (GER)

#19 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT

Qualifying 1: P4 – Race 1: P11

Qualifying 2: P21 – Race 2: P12

Luca Engstler: „It was a difficult weekend for me. The positive aspect was, of course, qualifying on Saturday, where I was able to secure a spot on the second row of the grid. The race itself was a bit unlucky for me. However, we need to take the positives from the weekend. Now we need to focus fully on the GT World Challenge races next week. “ Gottfried Grasser, GRT Team Principal: „What a thrilling weekend! We experienced every up and down imaginable. Saturday went exactly to plan, with Jordan on pole and Luca in P4. The race was one of the most turbulent and exciting I’ve seen in a long time. Great racing in all weather conditions. Jordan achieved a good result with P2. Unfortunately, Luca was unlucky as he was pushed out and lost a lot of positions. But we can still be very satisfied with our pace. Sunday was a bit unfortunate for us, but we weren’t the only ones who dropped points. With only six points behind the leaders, we are still in the championship race. Now we are looking forward to our home race in Spielberg, which will be a huge event for us.“