In his third attempt, Mirko Bortolotti (SSR-Lamborghini) secured his first title: What significance the previous title fights had for this year’s success
Good things come in threes! Mirko Bortolotti (SSR-Lamborghini) secured his first DTM title at the third attempt, after finishing fourth overall in 2022 and second in 2023. But that’s exactly what seems to have made him stronger! “I think I’ve really matured,” admits the new champion.
“Especially in the first season, I made two crucial mistakes that cost me a lot of points,” Because even back then, “we were in the game, but you can’t afford to throw certain races away.”
The first race of the 2022 season at the Nürburgring, in particular, has left a lasting impression on the 34-year-old. “That was the biggest example,” the Italian recalls. “That was probably the biggest mistake I made as a racing driver.”
“Would have been a fantastic result”
In the fight for the lead, Bortolotti brushed aside the leading Felipe Fraga (AF-Corse-Ferrari), which ended in a retirement. For the second race on Sunday, there was also a penalty of five positions on the grid. “I admitted it immediately and apologized to Felipe Fraga,” says the DTM champion.
“That cost us dearly, because a second place in this race would have been a fantastic result,” says Bortolotti, alluding to the fact that he lost important points in the championship fight due to his mistake. Things didn’t go any better on Sunday either, when the Italian collided with Kelvin van der Linde (Abt-Audi) and also retired.
“That turned the championship in Sheldon’s [van der Linde] direction,” says Bortolotti, who only finished fourth in his DTM debut season. Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert-BMW) crowned himself champion in 2022, with the Lamborghini driver ultimately losing more than the 18 points he dropped at the Nürburgring.
2023 “couldn’t do much better”
Nevertheless, it was a moment for Bortolotti that taught him not only to aim for race victory but also to be satisfied with a second place. This season, for example, the SSR Lamborghini driver only made it to the top of the podium once, but still managed to score a lot of points with a total of five second places.
Last year, however, Bortolotti learned that sometimes you also need a little luck to be successful in the DTM. He celebrated a total of three victories, but was unable to start in the second race at the Nürburgring due to a technical defect.
At the Red Bull Ring, the Lamborghini driver finally had to give up the DTM lead after a puncture through no fault of his own in the starting fray, which he was unable to win back at the finale in Hockenheim. In the end, the Italian still managed to finish as runner-up.
“We couldn’t have done much better last season,” believes Bortolotti, who ultimately had to admit defeat to Manthey-EMA driver Thomas Preining. ‘Manthey and Thomas were just a little better than us and deserve to have the title.’
“That was a special moment”
No wonder the Austrian was one of the first to congratulate him – and that was even during the cool-down lap! After both had done their donuts in front of the South Stand, Preining parked his Manthey-EMA Porsche next to Bortolotti’s Lamborghini.
“He said that I deserved it!” the new DTM champion reveals about his brief conversation with his opponent. ‘To hear these words from the reigning champion, who needs no introduction, means a lot to me. That was a special moment.’
With his overall victory, Bortolotti has written himself into the DTM history books: the 34-year-old is the first Italian DTM champion since Nicola Larini (Alfa Romeo) in the 1993 season. Lamborghini is celebrating its first title win in the 40-year history of the DTM.
“It’s really special,” beamed the SSR-Lamborghini driver. ‘It’s been too long since a German brand won the DTM. I’m happy that we’ve also made a bit of motorsport history.’