Bortolotti Crowned Champion in Hockenheim Title Decider

Mirko Bortolotti was crowned DTM champion during the season finale at Hockenheim, beating back a challenge from Kelvin van der Linde to secure his first series title on the third attempt.

Despite Van der Linde wrestling the points lead away from Bortolotti by winning from pole position during the opening race of the weekend on Saturday, a second-place finish during the deciding contest on Sunday was enough for the Italian to be crowned champion.

In the process, Bortolotti also secured the first DTM championship for Lamborghini, while he became the first Italian driver since Nicola Larini in 1993 to win the German sprint series.

Bortolotti came into the season finale with a lead of 15 points over nearest rival van der Linde, with Winward Racing driver Maro Engel also still in contention a further five points behind.

However, as van der Linde’s No. 3 ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II fought off a challenge from Lucas Auer to win from pole position during Race 1, it allowed the South African to reclaim the points lead heading into the championship’s final day.

Bortolotti, by contrast, could only finish fifth behind Van der Linde, Auer, Ayhancan Guven and Engel.

Qualifying for Race 2 on Sunday morning would see the championship standings swing back into Bortolotti’s favor as the No. 92 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 claimed pole position for the third time this season, giving the Italian a one-point lead for the title decider.

Bortolotti controlled the opening portion of the race from pole to maintain the lead into the pitstop window, while van der Linde slipped back into the midfield after starting fifth.

After the pitstops, Bortolotti rejoined the track in the lead but was passed by the No. 19 Lamborghini Team Liqui Moly by GRT machine of Luca Engstler, who took advantage of having warmer tires thanks to an undercut strategy.

Bortolotti remained in second place behind Engstler, despite the No. 33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Rene Rast closing in during the final laps.

However, the German was unable to mount an attack and finished third behind Engstler and Bortolotti, with the latter crucially outscoring both Van der Linde and Engel to take the title.

Thomas Preining finished fourth, ahead of Bortolotti’s SSR teammate Nicki Thiim, Ricardo Feller, Marco Wittmann and Auer.

The top ten for the season finale was completed by Sheldon van der Linde and Engel’s No. 130 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

The Kelvin van der Linde-driven No. 3 ABT Sportsline Audi finished in twelfth, one place behind the No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 piloted by Thierry Vermeulen.

The teams’ championship, meanwhile, was won by Schubert Motorsport as the BMW squad outscored ABT Sportsline by 35 points.

Mercedes-AMG won the manufacturers’ championship, having last taken the crown in 2021.

RESULTS: Race 1/Race 2