Bortolotti: Altered Lambo Setup Presents “Different Situation”

Mirko Bortolotti says his new Pro-class assignment to drive for Emil Frey Racing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup presents a “different situation” compared to his role with FFF Racing Team last season.

Emil Frey is Lamborghini’s only overall title hopeful in the Endurance Cup this season after FFF opted to take a break from GT3 racing in 2022.

Emil Frey is continuing to run three Huracan GT3 Evos in GTWC Europe but has benefited from FFF’s sabbatical by gaining the services of factory driver Bortolotti, who previously teamed up with Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli at the Chinese squad.

Bortolotti is sharing the No. 63 Lamborghini — which uses FFF’s former number — with Jack Aitken and Albert Costa who previously drove different Emil Frey cars.

The team’s other Pro entry features Giacomo Altoe, Leo Roussel and Arthur Rougier.

Bortolotti said that some adaption has been needed after getting used to the FFF operation, even though he’s driving the same type of car and with a team that knows the Huracan well.

“Last year we were a really consolidated team in a situation where we knew exactly what to do in what moment, with the tire we had in 2021,” he told Sportscar365.

“I think it all depends on how quickly we get to learn the [new Pirelli] tire. The car is the same, so I shouldn’t see a reason why it shouldn’t be the case.

“We were a team that had known each other for a long time, even though the year before I was at Audi.

“I think it’s definitely a different situation coming into a new environment and a new team; they have their own philosophy of doing things, their own processes and setup.

“It’s surely going to be different. We will probably need a bit more time to put the puzzle together.”

Bortolotti noted that despite both Emil Frey and FFF running the Lamborghini, there is little commonality between how they have run their programs.

FFF won all three 2019 GTWC Europe titles and was then a front-runner in the next two Endurance Cup seasons. Last year it led four out of five qualifying sessions and dominated at the Nürburgring. Emil Frey, meanwhile, claimed titles in the 2021 Silver Cup ranks.

“There is not much from the data last year that we can use this year,” Bortolotti said. “The situation is completely different.

“On top of that, on a personal note, I wasn’t involved in the full test program this year because I am also focusing on [DTM] where we run a completely different tire spec and BoP, and the car handles totally different even though it’s the same.

“So there are a few bits coming together this year that make the challenge a little bit more interesting.

“In the first test on Wednesday the car felt really good. Now we are trying to understand how we can improve it and where we can end up.

“But for sure we will have some work to do in order to be 100 percent competitive.”

According to Bortolotti, the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo is “struggling more than expected” on the new Pirelli P Zero DHF tire that is making its debut this weekend.

He noted that the problem lies in getting the tire into its optimal working range at the start of a stint, a task that has not been helped by cold conditions at Imola.

Bortolotti reckons that once Emil Frey overcomes that challenge, it will be able to use its class championship-winning experience with the Lamborghini to good effect.

“It seems the front-engine cars are having a little bit less of an issue on that side,” he explained.

“But it’s early to say: we’ve only just started. We need to try to understand what to do, even though we’ve already tried a lot of things.

“We need to find the right key to switch on the tire when we need it. We know what we have as a package and what we’re capable of.

“Definitely the front axle seems to be the limiting factor at the moment. It seems to be a little bit more of a struggle than in the past.

“But I’m quite confident that we will get there. The team, we know, is solid. They have done well over the last few seasons.

“It is great to have them in the Lamborghini family, and cool for me to be part of the team this year. I’m pretty sure that we have the ingredients and potential to do well.”

Lambo Input to Make “Best Lineup Possible”

As part of its support commitment to all GT3 customer teams, Lamborghini has provided contracted drivers to Emil Frey Racing’s Endurance Cup bid.

Head of Motorsport Giorgio Sanna explained that the manufacturer worked with the team to identify the “best lineup possible” by merging two factory drivers with GT3 prospect Aitken, who made his sports car debut last year in parallel to an F1 reserve role.

“Emil Frey has already achieved very important results with us since the beginning,” Sanna told Sportscar365.

“They are very well structured and very professional. With them, we have tried to put in place the best driver lineup possible.

“The two Pro cars they have are both competitive. It’s a mix of new talented drivers, like Aitken for example, with factory drivers.”

Sanna added that Lamborghini is content with having a reduced single-team representation in the GTWC Europe Pro class.

“At the moment I would prefer to keep a focus on Emil Frey, taking into consideration that in Spa we will have one more Pro car from K-PAX,” he said.

“We try to invest in a wider range of championships and we cannot be everywhere with many Pro teams.

“To put in place a program with Pro drivers is never easy: it is something we share with our customer teams. What we have today is what we can fulfill.”