Bortolotti Quickest in Second Nürburgring Practice

Mirko Bortolotti set the fastest time in the second and final Free Practice session for the DTM round at the Nürburgring.

The Lamborghini factory driver piloted the No. 92 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 to a fastest lap of 1:25.977 in the 45-minute session on Friday afternoon.

It marked the fastest time of the weekend thus far, as Bortolotti’s effort compared favorably to the 1:26.153 set by Manthey EMA driver Dennis Olsen during Free Practice 1.

SSR Performance looked set to lead the session with a 1-2 as Franck Perera ran second behind Bortolotti in the closing stages, only to be dropped to second thanks to Lucas Auer.

The Austrian put in a late flyer and steered the No. 22 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to a 1:26.320 to go second.

That time allowed him to jump Perera’s No. 94 Lamborghini by just 0.009 seconds, although he still conceded 0.343 seconds to Bortolotti.

Laurin Heinrich came fourth aboard the No. 75 KÜS Team Bernhard Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Kelvin van der Linde completing the top five for ABT Sportsline.

Points leader Thomas Preining took sixth, ahead of Ayhancan Guven and David Schumacher.

The top ten was rounded out by the No. 83 Tresor Orange 1 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Patric Niederhauser and Luca Stolz aboard the No. 4 Mercedes, respectively.

Qualifying for the first DTM race of the weekend kicks off Saturday at 9:35 a.m. CEST (3:35 a.m. EDT).

RESULTS: Free Practice 2