SAXONY, Germany — Four podium places, interim leader of the table and currently only seven points away from the top of the table, Lamborghini works driver Mirko Bortolotti is fully involved in the DTM title race.
A situation that the Italian from SSR Performance knows very well.
“I’ve been consistently at the front for the third year in a row,” said Bortolotti.
The next round in the championship battle will take place from Sept. 6-8 at the Sachsenring. Bortolotti travels to the traditional track in Hohenstein-Ernstthal with fond memories. Last year the 34-year-old took one of his three victories of the season there, this year he wants to take back the lead in the table from Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde (ZA/Abt Sportsline).
The second-placed driver has a positive assessment of the season so far.
“It means a lot to me to be at the front of the DTM again this year and to compete with the best at the highest level,” says Bortolotti. “In the end, it’s the points that count. How you get them doesn’t really matter. Last year I had the most wins in the field.”
This year, Bortolotti has shown that he has the speed to be at the front, especially in qualifying. In addition to his pole position in Oschersleben, he placed his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 on the first row of the grid four more times.
This means that the Viennese-based driver is well on course for the title, at least in qualifying – 13 points in qualifying is a record. A quality that could be particularly important at the Sachsenring.
“It’s very difficult to overtake in the race,” said Bortolotti. “For pole position, you need an almost perfect lap. Getting everything right in qualifying there won’t be easy.”
Bortolotti is confident about the race weekend in Saxony: “We are operating at a high level, fully focused and are heading to the Sachsenring well prepared. Of course, there are always things to improve. But if I reveal them, I would be pointing out possible weak points to the competition.”
Watch the Sept. 6-8 DTM events on SPEED SPORT 1.