The first race on Saturday was particularly bitter: after a good start, Mirko Bortolotti was knocked out of the race by René Rast after the first corner. The oil cooler of his Lamborghini Huracán was damaged, which in turn resulted in a costly engine failure. The team had to bring a replacement engine from Kempten, which arrived in the Eifel shortly before midnight. The subsequent installation of the new engine lasted until 6 AM on Sunday morning.
Nicki Thiim had fought his way up from 12th on the grid to the top ten in the early stages of Saturday’s race before spinning on the oil that his team-mate had lost earlier. The Dane still managed to score points in 12th place. Thiim also had a solid qualifying on Sunday, starting from 14th. However, he fell back to 18th in the race.
Mirko Bortolotti had to abandon his qualifying early on Sunday due to a steering issue – a late consequence of the start accident the day before. The team managed to replace the entire steering system just in time for the start of Sunday’s race. Starting from 20th on the grid, the reigning DTM champion fought his way up to 14th, rewarding his crew with points for all their overtime.
“It was great what the team achieved,” said Mirko Bortolotti. “Unfortunately, we are still struggling with the same problems on my car, which are clearly visible in the data but have not yet been resolved. On Saturday, I was taken out on lap 1. That not only compromised our race but also qualifying on Sunday. P14 in the second race was the best we could achieve given the circumstances.”
“In qualifying, the gap to the front wasn’t that big,” said Nicki Thiim. “I struggled in the races – especially on Sunday, when I had no grip at all from the start. I would have liked to have given more to the many fans who came to the Nürburgring and once again created a unique atmosphere.”
“It was another difficult weekend for us – especially for the crew of car number 1,” said ABT Motorsport Director Martin Tomczyk, summing up the weekend. “After the engine failure on Saturday, we had to work through the night. It was a great team effort. Everyone pitched in. We got a little something back in the race on Sunday, but of course not the result we had hoped for.”
ABT Sportsline had three stars from professional football cheering them on at the Nürburgring: Benjamin Henrichs, Tidiam Gomes (both RB Leipzig) and former national player Patrick Helmes. “Until now, I’d only been to Formula 1,” said Henrichs. “It’s really fascinating how accessible the DTM is.”
There’s no time to rest for the DTM team: a test at the Sachsenring is scheduled for next Sunday. The next DTM points will be up for grabs there on 23 and 24 August.