DTM Lausitzring: Bortolotti Takes Victory and Championship Lead
Mirko Bortolotti Dominates at Lausitzring
Mirko Bortolotti, behind the wheel of the SSR Performance Lamborghini, made history at the Lausitzring this afternoon by becoming the first driver to claim two DTM race wins in 2023. The Italian driver’s hard-fought victory over Ricardo Feller propelled him to the top of the championship standings, seven points ahead of former leader Thomas Preining.
Dramatic Qualifying Session
The action-packed race followed a dramatic qualifying session, where Bortolotti secured his fourth DTM pole position driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. With this pole position, he also earned three additional points for the Pirelli Pole Position Award. The qualifying session took place with temperatures around 23 degrees Celsius, and a crash involving Alessio Deledda led to a brief suspension, leaving drivers just five minutes to set a fast time after the restart. Bortolotti clinched pole position on his eleventh lap, the only driver below 1:21.000 minutes, with the top 25 drivers in qualifying finishing within a second of each other.
Bortolotti’s Relentless Drive to Victory
Bortolotti’s primary objective was to become the first driver this season to win a second race in the 2023 DTM Championship. With his sights set on closing the gap in the championship, he went into the race confident of claiming victory. Ricardo Feller from Abt Sportsline would start alongside Bortolotti on the front row, followed by Clemens Schmid from GRT Grasser Racing Team and Franck Perera, Bortolotti’s teammate, in third and fourth place respectively.
At the start, Bortolotti led into the first corner, while Ricardo Feller had to fend off Clemens Schmid in the GRT Grasser Lamborghini. However, the calm didn’t last long, as Franck Perera in the SSR Performance Lamborghini misjudged his braking, running into the back of Schmid’s Lamborghini, and putting both off into the gravel. This elevated championship leader Thomas Preining to the podium, but he was soon under pressure from Luca Stolz in his mirror. Stolz, driving the Team HRT Mercedes-AMG, benefited from a superb pitstop, putting him right on the tail of Preining, who was unable to counter the attack from Stolz, who quickly moved into third place.
Following the pitstops, an epic battle for first and second developed between Bortolotti and Ricardo Feller, with both drivers determined to be the first to claim a second win in this year’s championship. Feller threw everything he had at the Lamborghini ahead of him, but Bortolotti drove a faultless race, holding off the Team ABT Sportsline Audi driver to take the flag just 0.353 seconds ahead. Luca Stolz finished third ahead of Preining, who now drops from the championship lead with Bortolotti taking over, opening a seven-point deficit to Preining.
Looking Ahead to the Sachsenring
Round six of the DTM Championship will take place on the 8th-10th of September at the Sachsenring.
While the Dakar Rally and Porsche Dakar may be on the minds of some racing enthusiasts, the focus shifts to Germany for the DTM Championship, where Bortolotti’s victory has sent shockwaves through the paddock.
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