Christian Engelhart apologises for serious DTM crash

In the closing stages of the first race, DTM returnee Christian Engelhart was involved in a heavy crash with Thierry Vermeulen in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, when the two cars collided just before the Veedol chicane and crashed violently into the crash barrier. As a result, the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 sustained severe damage to its front end.

Christian Engelhart took the wheel of the Temerario GT3 from Maximilian Paul this weekend, making his first DTM appearance since Zandvoort 2024. He also made his racing debut in Lamborghini’s new GT3 car.

“First of all, I’d like to say that I went into this DTM weekend feeling very excited and motivated. The circumstances were challenging: a new car and no prior test sessions. I tackled this challenge with total commitment,” said Engelhart on Instagram. “We got off to a good start and, together with my team, were able to improve our performance from session to session. Yesterday morning we put in a strong qualifying performance and, after just two practice sessions in this car, were only 0.07 seconds behind the fastest Lamborghini time – that was a fantastic achievement for us.”

The Starnberg native continued: “The race was also going well right up until the final lap. But the situation changed in the blink of an eye. I didn’t actually want to take any risks, but as I approached the final chicane, I was very close to the car in front, and then everything happened very quickly. I misjudged the situation whilst braking, and a collision occurred. That wasn’t the result I’d hoped for. I apologise to the Grasser Racing Team and my mechanics, who have worked incredibly hard over the past few weeks to get the car ready for the start. My apologies also go to Thierry and Emil Frey Racing.”

The Bavarian will not be able to line up on the grid on Sunday, reducing the DTM field to 20 cars.

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