Motorsport-Magazin.com – Mirko Bortolotti showed a strong performance all weekend in Assen and was rewarded with a second place on Saturday. With announcement: Even before the qualifying, the native Italian declared that he wanted to be among the front runners and that is exactly what the GT3 veteran managed to do. In the qualification, Bortolotti burned the third fastest time into the asphalt, in the first Assen race the T3 guest starter even finished on the podium with second place.
For many, however, this appearance does not come as a surprise. Maximilian Götz warned of Bortolotti before the race weekend. The Italian himself is satisfied, but at the same time believes that there is more inside.
Bortolotti despite debut podium: not yet at 100 percent
Mirko Bortolotti is an absolute great in motorsport. The Formula 2 champion, who is currently racing in the GT World Challenge Endurance and the ADAC GT Masters, won the Daytona 24 Hours twice with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The 31-year-old Italian knows his DTM service car inside and out.
And that’s exactly what Bortolotti showed this weekend. After successful free practice sessions, things got serious for the first time on Saturday: Right from the start, Bortolotti made a courageous appearance. After a few laps he sniffed the leader Liam Lawson. After the second restart, which the Italian somewhat failed, he also managed to fight his way to second after a final overtaking maneuver against Lawson.
An overall strong performance, with which Bortolotti himself is satisfied. The T3 Motorsport driver wants more: “That was fun, but I had to get used to the new procedure like the restarts. We had two of them. I had the second-best starting position behind the pole setter and just had to follow Liam. That wasn’t that difficult. But we still have to learn a few things to be 100 percent competitive. But we can be happy for the first day. “
Mirko Bortolotti (left) stood on the podium next to winner Marco Wittmann (center) and Liam Lawson (right) on Saturday
–
Götz warned of guest starter Bortolotti
The performance shown by the Italian is not unexpected for many drivers and experts. The fourth place in the championship, Maximilian Götz, spoke of the danger posed by Bortolotti before this weekend. “Guest drivers have a small advantage. They have more fresh tires than drivers who are already in season, which gives them an advantage. We will see that at the weekend with Mirko Bortolotti, who I think is very strong.”
This assumption should also be confirmed so far. But not only for Bortolotti, who is already the second guest starter of the current DTM season to clinch a podium. At the Nürburgring it was Luca Stolz who finished second in a Toksport WRT Mercedes, but was subsequently relegated to ninth position due to an incident in the pit lane in which a mechanic was hit.
Bortolotti already tasted some blood on Saturday. “I’m very happy with second place. I tackle every race the same way and want to win. It doesn’t matter whether I’m a guest starter. I had good fights with Marco and Liam,” said the Italian after the race.
Lawson, Wittmann and Co. must expect another attack by Bortolotti on Sunday. However, he does not get any points for his podium and third place in qualifying. This is required according to the regulations. The 18 points went to Liam Lason, who finished the race in third place.
–
