Factory Driver Mirko Bortolotti arrives as the points leader ahead of the last round of the year
Sant’Agata Bolognese/Hockenheim, 17 October 2024 – Lamborghini is aiming to become DTM champions for the first time this weekend as the 2025 season draws to a close with a pair of one-hour races at Hockenheim. SSR Performance’s Mirko Bortolotti sits at the top of the standings heading into the finale, having taken victory at the most recent round at the Red Bull Ring.
The Lamborghini Factory Driver arrives at the 4.5-kilometre track with a 15-point advantage over Kelvin van der Linde (Audi) and 20 points over Maro Engel (Mercedes), with a maximum of 56 points up for grabs over the course of the weekend. Bortolotti, runner-up in the DTM last season, has been a title contender all year due to an impressive run of consistency.
In addition to his first win of the year in Austria, Bortolotti has amassed a further five podium finishes, beginning with a second place in the opening round at Oschersleben back in April. He repeated the feat at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, at the Nürburgring and once more at the Sachsenring, along with a third place on the streets of the Norisring. Bortolotti also scored vital points with his qualifying performances, taking three points for pole position at Oschersleben and Red Bull Ring.
After jumping to the top of the standings at the Norisring, the halfway point of the 40th anniversary season of the DTM, Bortolotti then lost the lead only to regain it again on the penultimate weekend of the year in Austria.
An excellent sequence of results from both Bortolotti and team-mate Nicki Thiim, who claimed his first DTM victory at the Norisring in the summer, has also allowed SSR Performance to sit fourth in the Teams’ standings and still mathematically in the hunt for the title at Hockenheim.
Equally, Lamborghini is aiming to be crowned Manufacturers’ champions this weekend. The Sant’Agata Bolognese firm is currently second in the standings and 24 points behind Mercedes thanks to the two victories from SSR Performance, with a third coming on the opening weekend at Oschersleben courtesy of Lamborghini Team Liqui Moly by GRT’s Luca Engstler.
Lamborghini has happy memories of racing at Hockenheim over the years. Bortolotti won twice in the ADAC GT Masters championship, the first of which came in 2019 with Christian Engelhart before adding a second in 2021 alongside Marco Mapelli. Two other victories in the ADAC series which runs parallel to the DTM came in 2017 and 2023, while further successes have been achieved in International GT Open (in 2019 and in May earlier this year) totalling six victories at the Baden-Württemberg circuit.
The Hockenheim weekend kicks off with two free practice sessions on Friday. The first of two 20-minute qualifying sessions will start on Saturday at 09:30 and will determine the grid for the opening race later that day at 13:30. The second qualifying will take place on Sunday morning at 09:30, with Race 2 starting at 13:30.