“First and foremost, our congratulations go to the winners of this spectacular race, which attracted a new record crowd of around 280,000 fans to the Nordschleife and featured countless thrilling battles on the track,” said ABT Motorsport Director Martin Tomczyk. “We ourselves experienced the toughest side of the Nordschleife today, losing the reward for our hard work just minutes before the chequered flag. Even though it’s difficult right now, I would like everyone in our team to be proud of themselves and leave the paddock with their heads held high.”
In the 24-hour sprint race Lamborghini factory drivers Engelhart, Engstler and Mapelli impressed with their consistently strong lap times. They also managed to avoid any time penalties or incidents during the numerous overtaking manoeuvres. The team will now work with the manufacturer to investigate the technical defect in the drive shaft that prevented them from reaching the podium just minutes before the end of the race. “The drivers and team did a fantastic and flawless job on Saturday and Sunday,” said Martin Tomczyk.
ABT Sportsline had to overcome several challenges already on the way to the start of the race. First, both cars had to qualify for the top qualifying session, which they achieved with impressive laps from Mirko Bortolotti and Luca Engstler. However, the first setback quickly followed: while Engstler’s number 28 car started the race in seventh place, Bortolotti’s number 27 car was relegated to the end of the first starting group, putting it in 27th place. The reason was that the reigning DTM champion had overlooked red flags while chasing times and was consequently penalised by the sporting authority.
Bortolotti and his teammates Daniel Juncadella and Jordan Pepper initially seemed to be staging a comeback, with the Lamborghini in Red Bull colours already racing in eleventh place by the evening. However, two minor technical defects repeatedly set the driver team back, and a gearbox issue finally ended their strong comeback drive in sixth place only one and a half hours before the finish. Tomczyk says: “I have great respect for how Mirko, Dani and Jordan stuck together after the incident in qualifying and fought their way back to the front. When I consider the guys’ pure speed, I think this team could have achieved so much more.”
No 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is complete without its share of curiosities and surprises. This year, there were two. To avoid the notorious Eifel fog, which caused the race to be abandoned after only seven hours last year, the race started unusually late in the year. With not a single cloud in the sky and temperatures above 30 degrees, the event turned into a real battle in the heat. However, it did not go entirely smoothly: a power failure throughout the paddock caused a break of almost two and a half hours on Saturday evening.
The motorsport department, led by Martin Tomczyk, will continue with the next highlight of the season the weekend after next, when the DTM holds its classic city circuit race at the Norisring in Nuremberg on 5 and 6 July.