They have been fierce title rivals final 12 months, however Mirko Bortolotti has introduced the coveted primary to the Abt DTM group for 2025, following title success final 12 months.
Switching from longtime companion Audi to Lamborghini vehicles this season, Abt has been impressed by its new driver’s enter thus far.
“When he was with us for the primary time, it was completely constructive for all of us – he spent an unbelievable period of time,” sporting director Martin Tomczyk, himself a DTM champion in 2011, instructed Motorsport.com sister publication Motorsport-Complete. “What he does, he does 100 per cent. He’s extremely demanding with himself. It begins with the preparation for a check, through the check and likewise within the follow-up. He actually is extraordinarily conscientious.”
Moreover, Bortolotti doesn’t have to be pushed, “as a result of he has extraordinarily excessive requirements himself”, Tomczyk added.
“It begins with the concepts he comes up with through the check,” the German defined. “He is aware of precisely tips on how to assess the varied check factors.” The incoming driver is “distinctive in his follow-up and preparation with regard to suggestions, and likewise in his preparation with the engineers”.
In response to Tomczyk, that’s why the Italian racer has been a title contender ever since he joined the DTM full-time in 2022.
“I feel he is been one of many drivers who’ve had the bottom error fee within the DTM since I’ve recognized him,” Tomczyk claimed. “I can not verify it with figures, nevertheless it simply exhibits that he actually works very meticulously.”
Mirko Bortolotti, Staff Abt
Photograph by: Abt Sportsline
This declare is partly corroborated by Bortolotti’s qualifying file, with 10 top-three outcomes out of 16 in 2024.
Bortolotti himself “very impressed” by Abt
In the meantime, how is Bortolotti’s Abt debut going from the 35-year-old’s personal perspective, after two years at SSR Efficiency?
The Vienna-based driver tells us it he’s “utterly constructive” after “good first weeks working collectively”, having far more expertise of the Lamborghini than his group, which did run the Huracan on the Nordschleife for 2 years.
“Proper from the beginning, the fellows gave me the sensation that they are surely veterans who know the automotive inside out. So I am very impressed with that,” Bortolotti stated.
“I attempt to make my expertise obtainable to the group as a lot as I can. The group actually responds very positively,” he added, though he stops wanting viewing himself because the squad’s chief. “Abt has lots of expertise as a group, and you do not have to carry loads to the desk. However, in fact, there are some things in regards to the automotive that I can take with me. And so we assist one another and push one another ahead.”
What’s the greatest distinction from his former group, SSR Efficiency? “You may’t actually say after sooner or later of testing,” Bortolotti nuanced. What is certainly new, nevertheless, is that the previous Crimson Bull junior is now again in that household, with the Austrian power drink firm sponsoring the Abt outfit.
On this article
Sven Haidinger
DTM
Mirko Bortolotti
Staff Abt
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