Christian Dept.

**Christian Dept.**
Nation:	Germany
DTM
First race:	Hockenheimring I 2000
Last race:	Hockenheimring II 2007
Teams (manufacturers)
	2000–2004 Abt • 2005 Joest • 2006–2007 Phoenix (all Audi )
statistics
Podiums:	4th
Overall wins:	-
Points:	75
	Status: end of career

Christian Abt (born May 8, 1967 in Kempten (Allgäu) ) is a German racing driver and entrepreneur.

Career

Christian Abt started out in motorsport in motocross. 1983 Abbot became German Motocross Champion. From 1986 to 1988 he won the German OMK Motocross Cup in the South Group three times in the 125 cm³ class. In 1990, Abt switched to four wheels with the ADAC Formula School and won it

In 1991, Abt won the Formula BMW Junior with a 29 point lead over future rally driver Lars Mysliwietz . A year later, Abt was 13th in the German Formula 3 championship and overall winner of the B classification. Abt stayed in formula racing until 1995 , but was unable to record any notable successes compared to his first years. In 1996 he switched to touring cars and finished fourth in the Super Touring Car Cup in the family's own racing team . In the next two years, Abt placed in the middle of the STW.

In 1999 , Abt became the last STW champion in a controversial final: Before the race at the Nürburgring , Abt and Opel driver Uwe Alzen had a chance of winning the title. At the end of the last lap the order on the track looked like this: Kris Nissen (Abt-Audi), Uwe Alzen, Christian Abt and behind them Roland Asch (Opel). Nissen had already been lapped and clearly stopped the following. Asch had already been disqualified after an earlier incident, but had not left the track. Alzen and Abt took second and third place behind Tom Kristensen (Honda). With this order, Abt would have been champions with an eight point lead. In the NGK chicane, Nissen and Alzen initially collided after the latter missed his braking point. Asch and Abt touched in the last corner, which meant that he was eliminated. Alzen, who was able to continue with a broken wheel suspension, would have been champion. However, the DMSB sports court decided 24 days later not to score the last lap of the race, so the championship went to Abt.

In 2000 , Abt Sportsline entered the DTM - initially as a private team . However, the performance of the Audi TT-R was clearly at a disadvantage compared to the factory-built AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM and Opel Astra V8 Coupé . In the same year, Abt and Team Joest finished third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans . His best overall placement in the DTM in 2002 was fifth. In 2005 , Abt changed teams and got a year-old car from Audi Sport Team Joest Racing. After a mixed season in 2007 , Abt ended his career in the DTM. In 2008 , Abt started for Tolimit Motorsport in the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and came 14th overall. In 2009, Abt won the ADAC GT Masters and came second overall in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring . With the Prosperia UHC Speed team , Dept 33rd overall in the GT Masters. In the following year, Abt took over the team and competed in various racing series as Prosperia C. Abt Racing as team principal until 2016 . In 2017, after five years of abstinence as a driver, Abt was third in the SP-X classification at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

Private

From 2003 to 2005, Abt had a relationship with racing driver Christina Surer . Christian Abt has been remarried since 2008 and has a daughter. He has another child from a previous marriage. In June 2017, after three years, Abt ended his activity as the City Councilor of Free Voters in Kempten.

Christian Abt is not the only racing driver in his family. His father Johann Abt started as a racing driver with a DKW motorcycle as early as 1952. His brother Hans-Jürgen Abt started a. a. in the Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup and in the ADAC GT Cup. His wife Margit Abt was active in the Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup and the Seat Leon Supercopa . Their son Daniel Abt drove in the FIA Formula E Championship from 2014 to 2020 .

Awards

1984 ADAC top talent in karting
1999 ADAC motor sportsman of the year

statistics

Career stations

1983: German Motocross Championship (1st place)
1986: German OMK Motocross Cup (1st place)
1987: German OMK Motocross Cup (1st place)
1988: German OMK Motocross Cup (1st place)
1990: ADAC Formula School (1st place)
1992: German Formula 3 Championship (13th place)
1992: German Formula 3 Championship B-Cup (1st place)
1993: German Formula 3 Championship (7th place)
1994: ADAC GT Cup (9th place)

1994: German Formula 3 Championship (8th place)
1994: German Formula 3 Championship (15th place)
1996 : Super Touring Car Cup (4th place)
1997 : Super Touring Car Cup (13th place)
1998 : Super Touring Car Cup (12th place)
1999 : Super Touring Car Cup (1st place)
2000 : German Touring Car Masters (19th place)
2001 : German Touring Car Masters (10th place)
2002 : German Touring Car Masters (7th place)

2003 : German Touring Car Masters (12th place)
2004 : German Touring Car Masters (16th place)
2005 : DTM (9th place)
2006 : DTM (13th place)
2007 : DTM (15th place)
2008 : Porsche Carrera Cup Germany (14th place)
2009: VLN (place 357)
2009 : ADAC GT Masters (1st place)
2012 : ADAC GT Masters (33rd place)

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1999	United Kingdom Audi Sport UK Ltd.	Audi R8C	Sweden Stefan Johansson	Monaco Stéphane Ortelli	failure	differential
2000	Germany Joest Racing	Audi R8	Italy Michele Alboreto	Italy Rinaldo Capello	Rank 3