Mirko Bortolotti lived moments of tension during Saturday’s race at the DTM in Hockenheim, where he achieved a prominent second position, although he was about to be disqualified for the third time this season. The Italian driver ran out of fuel in the last meters of the race, parking his Lamborghini at the finish line.
The regulations require that there is always enough fuel to extract a sample after the competition. If Bortolotti had run out of fuel, his result would have been invalidated, a bitter ending to a season that had already been complicated for him.
His team, Grasser Racing, acted quickly. The team had informed the race direction about the fuel problem, and race director Sven Stoppe gave instructions to park the vehicle safely at the end of the main straight, a key step to avoid disqualification.
Ultimately, luck was on Bortolotti’s side, who managed to keep 1.4 kilograms of fuel, when the minimum required was 0.7 kilograms. ‘We were all nervous, but what we did was absolutely right,’ commented team principal Gottfried Grasser.
Disqualification of Bastian Buus
In contrast, Land Porsche driver Bastian Buus did not have the same luck. Despite achieving pole position, he was disqualified after Saturday’s race for not meeting the minimum weight, as he only had 0.049 kilograms of fuel in the tank.
Bortolotti’s season
After this tense race, Bortolotti finished Sunday in 10th position, and now occupies 13th place in the overall DTM standings. Without his second place in Hockenheim, his best results would have been three fifth places, which are not enough for a driver of his caliber.
Now, the team hopes that the points from his victory in Oschersleben will be recognized in a possible appeal, which could elevate him to ninth place in the championship.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
