Grasser Racing Team - Squad that has the vision

Grasser Racing Team is the GT racing team from Austria, founded in 2011 by engineer and former racing driver Gottfried Grasser.

The team’s headquarters is close to Red Bull Ring

He was involved in the world of racing since 1999 but in 2011 decided to establish his own team. The Grasser Racing Team headquarters is located in St. Margarethen by Knittelfeld in Styrian mountains, only a couple of kilometers from the country’s top racing venue – Red Bull Ring. The team owns a modern workshop with a body and paint center that is completely equipped to take care of GT, Touring, and Formula cars.

Gottfried Grasser, team owner

Founder Gottfried Grasser took the role of Team principal but also acts as Technical director while the Team manager is Natalie Wessely. The ambition of young team is to become one of the leading racing squads in Europe and during the short time, Grasser Racing Team already enjoyed some success in various championships.

Slow start

In its first year, GRT entered selected rounds of ADAC GT Masters with Dodge Viper Competition Coupe but, interestingly, did not start a single race. The following year in the series was somewhat better. Gottfried Grasser was the team’s leading driver, sharing the seat of Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+ with five other drivers. He failed to score points but was able to finish most of the races in 2012.

Harald Proczyk, Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+

The situation hasn’t significantly changed in 2013 when the Grasser Racing Team raced with Lamborghini in selected rounds of Blancpain Endurance Series and ADAC GT Masters. The results again were modest but the team picked some valuable experience for the following year. However, in the FIA GT Series results were better and GRT drivers Harald Proczyk and Dominik Baumann finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in Pro-Am Cup.

Breakthrough was done in 2014

Season of 2014 was the breakthrough for the Grasser Racing Team. The team enjoyed success in various championships with Lamborghini Gallardo FL2. The figures were fascinating – 22 podium finishes (12 times 1st, 6 times 2nd places, and 4 times 3rd).

Sascha Halek, Gottfried Grasser, Jeroen Bleekemolen, 2014

Hari Proczyk and Jeroen Bleekemolen were 3rd in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, while Sascha Halek and Stefan Landmann were the vice-champions in Pro-Am Trophy of the same series. Finally, Grasser Racing Team finished 3rd in the Teams’ Championship.

GRT Grasser Racing becomes fully supported manufacturer team

In 2015 Grasser Racing Team became one of the Lamborghini factory-backed teams and results continued to improve. The team achieved a huge victory in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup race at Monza what was the first ever race for the new Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

GRT’s Lamborghini t Red Bull Ring

Later in the season, GRT won the home race at Red Bull Ring in ADAC GT Masters. Interestingly, it was the only round that the team has entered in 2015. At the end, GRT also appeared in a couple of rounds of 24h Series, fielding one Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with three different driver line-ups.

It’s time to put some silverware in a showcase

Grasser Racing Team won the Main race of 2016 ADAC GT Masters season-opening round at Oschersleben and team finished 6th in the standings. Driver Rolf Ineichen was runner-up in Trophy class and also was 7th in the Drivers’ Championship alongside his co-driver Christian Engelhart.

GRT Grasser Racing Teamwins the ADAC GT Masters race at Oschersleben

In the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, Grasser Racing Team took the 6th place in the standings. Mirko Bortolotti, Christian Engelhart, and Rolf Ineichen won the last race of the season at Nurburgring while the team also scored two pole positions.

At the same time, GRT also raced in Blancpain Sprint Series. Luca Stolz and Michele Beretta won the title in Silver Cup class, with four class wins on their account, while the team finished 9th in the overall classification of the Teams’ Championship.

Grasser Racing Team at Daytona

Blancpain GT Series Endurance champions in 2017

In 2017 Grasser Racing Team continued journey to the top of European GT racing competing in the Blancpain GT Series and ADAC GT Masters. At the beginning of the season, GRT fielded two cars in Daytona 24 Hours but the results on debut weren’t glorious.

GRT’s Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Christian Engelhart became the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup winners. They won two races during a season. At Spa 24 Hours, they didn’t finish the race.

Gottfried Grasser and his drivers at Daytona International Speedway

Two victories at Daytona 24 Hours

In 2018, the team’s greatest success was a victory at Daytona 24 Hours. Mirko Bortolotti, Rik Breukers, Rolf Ineichen and Franck Perera took the GTD class victory in the #11 Lamborghini Huracan GT3.  A year later, in January 2019, the #11 Lambo returned to Daytona and took one more GTD class victory. The car was driven by Bortolotti, Breukers, Ineichen and Christian Engelhart.

In European competitions in 2018, the team scored several wins in the Blancpain GT Series or ADAC GT Masters but without taking championship titles.

Photo: sports247.my, meinbezirk.at, speedsport-magazine.com, blancpain-gt-series.com, sport-auto.ch, adac-motorsport.de, grasser-racing.com