Why Mirko Bortolotti does not agree with the warning from race control after the collision with Marco Wittmann and how the winner experienced the duel
After the tough duel with Marco Wittmann and the contact in the battle for victory in Sunday’s DTM race in Zandvoort, Mirko Bortolotti was already upset on the radio during the race. “He has to leave me on the track! He pushed me off in the chicane! I was completely beside him!” the SSR Lamborghini driver grumbled.
However, the race stewards did not penalize the Schubert-BMW driver, who went on to win the race, but instead gave Bortolotti a warning – for pushing Wittmann! A decision with which the DTM runner-up does not agree at all.
“It was tough, but fair in the end,” said Bortolotti at the Top 3 press conference after the race. “The only thing I don’t accept, don’t like and don’t understand is this black and white flag. ”
Bortolotti on maneuver: “Otherwise I would have cleared him “
A warning may sound harmless, but it could have an impact on the title fight. For Bortolotti, who is second in the overall standings, it is the first this season. Anyone who collects three has to move down five places on the grid for the following race.
But how did the two of them see the decisive scene of the race, which later caused Wittmann to smoke? The Schubert-BMW came out of the pits with cold tires after his overcut and fought back against Bortolotti, who had stopped three laps earlier in the lead and absolutely had to get past.
“We went into the chicane together, I was next to him,” explained Bortolotti. “Then it’s just tight. Then there is a bit of contact. I got all the way into the irons for the left, because otherwise I would have cleared him. I did everything I could to prevent contact. ”
Bortolotti: “I didn’t do a divebomb “
In the end, however, the right front of the Lamborghini touched the left side of the BMW’s rear apron. “I was just on my line next to him, I didn’t do a divebomb. Tricky!”, defends Bortolotti, who does not believe he is to blame.
“Nothing happened,” says Bortolotti, who congratulated Wittmann fairly after the race. “Of course we touched, he stayed in front and won the race. We finished second. But to get a penalty or a black-and-white for that, I don’t understand that. ”
Why Bortolotti was warned
How did Wittmann experience the situation? “I think it was a tough duel,” says the two-time DTM champion. “That’s exactly what we want to see in GT3 racing, there should be a bit of paint swapping involved. But in my case, it was more about driving off components than exchanging paint,” he grins.
He could “perhaps understand the caution for Bortolotti, because my race could have been over, but in the end it was a cool duel. I fought back with all the means and possibilities at my disposal, I didn’t make it easy for him. I have to be fair and say that.”
Why did the stewards find Bortolotti at fault? In the view of race director Sven Stoppe, Bortolotti was never completely next to Wittmann. This is also shown by the contact in which a part behind the left BMW rear wheel was damaged
