After finishing runner-up in 2023, Mirko Bortolotti went one better by delivering his maiden DTM crown with a consistent campaign. There was only one win, a well-judged wet-dry affair at the Red Bull Ring, but nobody eclipsed the SSR Lamborghini Huracan driver’s tally of seven podiums.
He showed steel too, fending off a train of cars headed by chief rival Kelvin van der Linde for second at Zandvoort with a delaminating left-rear tyre. Elsewhere, Bortolotti was part of Iron Lynx’s crew that claimed GTD Pro spoils at Petit Le Mans and made his Hypercar debut in the disappointing SC63 LMDh.
Pushing for perfection
Mirko Bortolotti reckons there’s no such thing as a perfect season. But the Italian believes “we were super close to that” in the DTM this year.
Remaining with SSR, some of the niggling problems that were perhaps inevitable as the team adjusted from running Porsches were ironed out in 2024. Bortolotti not only scored points in every race, but perhaps the greatest indicator of his formidable strength can be seen in his qualifying record.
The DTM awards points to the top three drivers in each qualifying session, and Bortolotti picked up bonus points in 10 out of 16 races. That meant a tally of 20 points scored in qualifying, compared to 11 for Kelvin van der Linde, who trailed by 17 at the end of the campaign. By contrast, in 2023 Bortolotti collected bonus points on six occasions in qualifying, amassing six fewer points than he did this term.
The 34-year-old, who has raced the Huracan in every year bar one since 2015 when he spent 2020 with Audi, stresses that “I don't think we improved the performance necessarily; I think we managed to keep a really high level coming from last season”.
But it’s clear that what was already a strong combination fully exploited its potential in a more complete fashion in 2024 as Bortolotti became the first driver not racing for a German brand to conquer the DTM since Nicola Larini drove an Alfa Romeo 155 in 1993.
“The continuity of staying together with exactly the same working group, benefiting from everything we managed to learn from the first season, the first season ever for SSR working] on a Lamborghini, I think that made a difference because we managed to handle several situations in a much better way, also mentally compared to last year,” reflects Bortolotti. “The title was not won on true performance.”
For evidence of that, he points to the fact his sole victory came at the Red Bull Ring “in mixed conditions with the perfect strategy and perfect decision on starting on wet tyres with the right tyre pressure. This shows that we have grown up a lot as a team this season”.
Bortolotti regards his DTM title as the “highest ranked by far” of his racing achievements to date, which include winning the Blancpain Endurance Series and its Endurance Cup crown in 2017.
Having trailed van der Linde heading into the final race of the season, where he took second at Hockenheim, Bortolotti concedes that “it was extremely difficult, on every single element” to get the job done. He credits “managing the difficult moments, the difficult phases in a very professional, mature way, without making mistakes and without throwing away important races” with getting him over the line.
The calibre of opposition only elevates his success. It included three previous champions in BMWs, defending champion Thomas Preining (Porsche) and the rapid Emil Frey Ferrari of Jack Aitken who had more pole positions (four) and led more laps (135) than anybody.
“It's super tricky to be competitive more or less everywhere in this environment and in this type of [BoP] championship,” says Bortolotti.
For proof of that, his SSR team-mate Nicki Thiim also won once but ended the year 13th while Luca Engstler – who won twice – ended up 14th in his family-run Huracan.
