Grasser Racing Team (GRT) has lost its appeal against Mirko Bortolotti’s disqualification from the second DTM race at Oschersleben, with the DMSB Appeals Court upholding the decision that stripped the Lamborghini driver of his victory. The court, chaired by Rainer Wicke, rejected GRT’s appeal on Friday, 25 September, confirming the amended result of the Sunday race. Maro Engel therefore retains the victory, while Thomas Preining remains second and Marco Wittmann third.
However, the dispute may not be over yet. GRT intends to pursue the matter further and take the case to the FIA, potentially leaving uncertainty over the championship standings heading into the season finale at Hockenheim.
DMSB Appeals Court rejects Grasser Racing’s case
Bortolotti originally crossed the line first at Oschersleben on 26 July, securing what would have been the Lamborghini Temerario GT3’s maiden DTM victory. However, a routine technical inspection involving four cars later found that a wheel bearing from Bortolotti’s #63 Lamborghini did not correspond with the DTM GT3 homologation and the reference component. The stewards subsequently disqualified Bortolotti for a breach of Article 5.1 of the DTM Sporting Regulations, promoting the drivers who had finished behind him.
GRT appealed the decision and argued that the regulations permitted the wheel bearing it had used. The team based its case on Clarification 04, a document available in the DTM Download Centre which it believed exempted wheel bearings from the homologation requirement. The DMSB Appeals Court has now rejected that argument and upheld the original disqualification. As a reuslt, the revised Oschersleben classification remains in place, with Engel officially retaining the win ahead of Preining and Wittmann.
Grasser Racing plans to take the case to the FIA
Despite losing its appeal before the DMSB, GRT does not consider the matter closed. Team Principal Gottfried Grasser confirmed to Motorsport-Total.com that the Austrian outfit plans to pursue the case at FIA level.
“We have been proved right on all our points. The DMSB believes it is equally in the right. So, as it’s 50:50, the decision has gone in favour of the DMSB. We are now taking the matter to the FIA in Paris. So it’s definitely going to the next round,” Grasser told the german outlet following the verdict.
Grasser Racing can take the next step because they compete under an Austrian licence. The case would therefore go through Austria’s national sporting authority, the AMF, before potentially reaching the FIA’s International Court of Appeal. Gottfried Grasser remains convinced that the team’s interpretation of the DTM regulations is correct, despite the DMSB Appeal Court siding with the original decision to disqualify Bortolotti. The dispute centres on the relationship between the current DTM regulations, the championship’s additional GT3 homologation and Clarification 04.
Ahead of the hearing, Grasser maintained that the clarification remained valid because no one had withdrawn it and it was still available in the Download Centre. The document dates back to 2024, when the applicable FIA GT3 regulations treated wheel bearings differently. The DTM’s regulatory framework has since changed, including the introduction of a DTM-specific additional homologation which takes precedence over the FIA GT3 homologation in relevant areas. The FIA’s technical regulations regarding wheel bearings have also changed since the clarification was originally issued.
The fight could remain unresolved beyond Hockenheim
A further appeal could have significatn consequences for the conclusion of the 2026 DTM season. The Hockenheim finale takes place from the 9th to 11th October, leaving limited time for another legal process to reach a conclusion before the championship decider. The Oschersleben ruling directly affects the points scored by several title contenders. Following Bortolotti’s disqualification, Engel moved from second to first, while Preining moved from third to second. Wittmann inherited the final podium position.
If GRT ultimately succeeded in overturning the disqualification, the original Oschersleben result would need to be reinstated and the corresponding championship points adjusted. That means the 2026 DTM champion could potentially remain unconfirmed after the chequered flag falls at Hockenheim if the case is still pending.
For now, however, the DMSB’s decision stands: Bortolotti remains disqualified from the Oschersleben Sunday race, Engel keeps the victory, and the amended championship points remain in place while Grasser Racing prepares its next legal step.
