When we at ABT say or write that motorsport is part of our DNA, then you can take us by our word: 75 years ago, the then 14-year-old Johann Abt competed in his first car race in our home town of Kempten - and thus founded the colourful and successful motorsport tradition of the company ABT.

The spectators at the Kempten grass track race in 1950 can hardly believe what they are seeing with their own eyes. ''No way!" Here comes a 14-year-old boy with a refurbished old ‘Armed Forces bucket car’ and drives this DKW ‘Master class’ with starting number 7 like a big boy. No, like a really big one. Because the boy with the smart, usually grumpy look at the steering wheel gets a place on the podium in his very first car race.

The very young racing talent is called ''Abt Hansl". His correct name is Johann. With his appearance in Kempten, he lays the foundation for a motorsport success story that begins in 1950 and continues to this day - even if in completely different cars and racing formats.

A little-known chapter in ABT's motorsport history: in 1978, the company supported Audi's first factory entry in the German rally championship. After Johann Abt had been successful in the European Touring Car Championship with privately entered Audi 80s since the mid-1970s, the four-wheel drive expert supported the brand with the four rings in making its 80 rally car durable and fast. The Audi quattro is developed in parallel on this basis. With this 4x4 drive concept, Audi revolutionised all-wheel drive technology beyond rallying from 1981 onwards.

‘That was a great year,’ says driver Joachim Knollmann, looking back. "We laid the foundation for the later very successful motorsport history of Audi Sport. I had a great relationship with Johann Abt, who often looked after the car himself at the rallies and picked up the tools. He was extremely straightforward, but if you knew him well, you knew where you stood."

'We had the entrepreneurial courage to enter the DTM as a small private team in 2000,“ remembers Hans-Jürgen Abt. In the meantime, the 'Abts” have been represented in Germany's most popular racing series for more than a quarter of a century and are the most successful active DTM team with five driver and five team championships.

The success story began at the turn of the millennium with the self-developed Abt-Audi TT-R, with which ABT sensationally won the title as a private team against the Mercedes-Benz and Opel factory teams in 2002. From 2004 to 2020, ABT was the factory team for Audi in the DTM. In 2004, Mattias Ekström won the title in Audi's debut year. From 2007 to 2009, the Allgäu-based team achieved the only title triple in the history of the DTM.

Alongside the decision to enter the DTM at the beginning of the 2000s, the entry into Formula E at the end of 2013 is probably Hans-Jürgen Abt's most courageous motorsport decision. At the time, the all-electric formula series was still ridiculed by many and not really taken seriously. That has changed a decade later: As an official FIA World Championship, the series enjoys a high reputation and is causing a stir with a high-calibre driver field, innovative technologies and ever new ideas for the sporting format.

ABT's courage has paid off, as the team has been one of the championship's protagonists right from the start. Lucas di Grassi, who has raced alongside Daniel Abt for many years, wins the first race in Beijing after a dramatic final lap. In the first and second seasons, he narrowly missed out on the title with third and second place, but always kept the fight open until the final weekend. In the third season, he turned the tide in a real thriller finale, giving ABT its most valuable international title to date. Even today, di Grassi is the most successful driver in the field with the most trophies.