Bortolotti Puts Lamborghini on Pole at Nürburgring

Mirko Bortolotti’s No. 63 GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 grabbed pole for the Blancpain Endurance Series iRacing.com GT500 at the Nürburgring.

In a hard-fought Q3 session the Italian took the top spot halfway through the session and further improved his time on the following lap.

“It’s great to score our second pole of the year after Paul Ricard. Conditions were very tricky; they change so quickly you always have to be on it,” Bortolotti said.

“I’m really happy about the work we’ve done throughout the year and show how strong we are once again.

“We still have a small chance for the teams’ title, so we’ll give everything we have.”

Alex Buncombe put the title-contending No. 23 Nissan GT Academy Team RJN GT-R NISMO GT3 next to the Lamborghini on the front row. The Brit was 0.164s off Bortolotti’s time when the session was red flagged.

Pieter Schothorst beached the No. 4  WRT Audi (Pro Am Cup) in the final turn three minutes from the end, and race control decided not to restart the session.

The Nissan GT-R looked very strong in the cold and overcast conditions at the Nürburgring, as the No. 173 Always Evolving entry of Craig Dolby ended up in third, after teammate Martin Plowman went fastest in Q2.

Alvaro Parente (No. 59 Von Ryan McLaren) and Yelmer Buurman (No. 21 Black Falcon Mercedes) rounded out the top-five.

The first of the other title contenders was the No. 7 M-Sport Bentley Continental GT3 of Steven Kane in seventh (+0.390s), while the No. 2 WRT Audi of Frank Stippler and Stéphane Ortelli only managed 14th, two positions behind the No. 99 ROWE Racing Mercedes.

If positions remain the same in the race, it would result in Buncombe, Wolfgang Reip and Katsumasa Chiyo grabbing the drivers’ title.

Furthermore, Nissan also claimed pole position in the Pro Am Cup, thanks to a strong lap of Gaetan Paletou in the No. 22 RJN GT-R (0.449s), making it three Nissans in the top ten.

RESULTS: Qualifying