Grasser Racing has announced its biggest GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS programme since 2019, with drivers confirmed for full-season cars in the Pro and Silver Cup classes.
The Lamborghini squad is among the most familiar names in the paddock having earned the Overall teams' and drivers' titles in 2017, along with the Endurance Cup drivers' crown. Its plans for 2025 suggest that a return to the top is possible, with Jordan Pepper, Luca Engstler and Mirko Bortolotti confirmed to drive the flagship Pro car.
This follows a superb 2024 season, which saw the Austrian outfit take overall pole for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa and fightback from early problems to finish fifth, recording Lamborghini's best result at the event. The team also scored victory at the Nürburgring and was runner-up in the final Endurance Cup standings.
Pepper is the only continuing driver from the successful 2024 programme. The South African ace was not originally part of last year's line-up but was called in to replace the injured Christian Engelhart at Spa and enjoyed a stellar year thereafter. He will run the full 10-round season with Grasser this term.
Engstler is also set for the complete campaign, which will be his first as a fully-fledged Squadra Corsa driver. The promotion followed an impressive 2024 season in GT World Challenge Europe, which culminated in winning the Gold Cup title in Sprint.
Their line-up will be bolstered at Endurance rounds by one of the most respected drivers in the sport. It is a homecoming, too, as Bortolotti returns to the team with which he won the 2017 Overall and Endurance Cup titles (below). His last GT World Challenge Europe outing with the squad was in 2019, though Bortolotti has continued to represent Lamborghini in the series since.
Grasser has also revealed a Silver Cup line-up for 2025, with Baptiste Moulin, Ivan Ekelchik and Dante Rappange set to pilot the #19 Lamborghini.
Moulin will compete in the full campaign and brings plenty of experience at the wheel of the Huracán. The 25-year-old Belgian ran the full Endurance season in 2020 and 2022, as well as the Sprint Cup in 2023. He has contested the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on five occasions, including last year with Grasser.
Ekelchik also gets a full-season seat having risen though the GT4 ranks in recent years. Last season the 28-year-old won a race in ADAC GT4 on his way to third in the standings, and was also a regular top-10 finisher in the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club.
They will be joined at Endurance Cup rounds by Rappange, who raced in Sprint last year and has previously enjoyed success in GT4. His brother Jop will also compete in the Silver Cup this season for Dinamic GT.
“I'm delighted that we'll be racing the full season in the Sprint and Endurance Cup again – with two very strong cars in the Pro and Silver categories," said team principal Gottfried Grasser. "With Luca and Jordan for the whole season and Mirko as reinforcement in the Endurance races, we clearly want to compete for the title.
"In Baptiste, we have an old friend in the car who already impressed us with his talent last year. Ivan has also delivered strong performances in various GT4 series. I'm sure that both will be able to have a say in the Silver Cup with their skills – and with Dante on board, certainly in the Endurance Cup as well.
"In 2025 we are in a stronger position than we have been for a long time. I am convinced that we can fight on the top and win in all classifications.”
The team is also set to compete in Sprint with a Bronze Cup entry, details for which will be revealed at a later date. Grasser Racing will head to Circuit Paul Ricard next week to undertake the official Prologue (10/11 March).