The DTM weekend at the Red Bull Ring saw some raised eyebrows, and most of them were aimed squarely at one man: Mirko Bortolotti.
The Italian driver, behind the wheel of the SSR Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, put on a performance that stunned his rivals, despite carrying the weighty baggage of Balance of Performance (BoP) penalties.
His triumph in Saturday’s race and a pole position for Sunday, followed by a respectable fourth-place finish, have now placed him at the top of the championship standings. But, as with all stories of extraordinary success, there are whispers; was the Lamborghini overperforming?
The paddock is buzzing with questions, and many drivers, including three-time DTM champion René Rast, are wondering if Bortolotti’s Lamborghini was truly hindered by the hefty ballast it carried, or if the car had more pace in reserve than anyone expected.
Rast, who himself drove a Schubert BMW, followed Bortolotti closely in Sunday’s race and was left perplexed by the Lamborghini’s apparent invincibility. "I caught up with Mirko, but as soon as he saw me closing in, he just upped the pace and suddenly went even faster," Rast explained. "It was like he had a secret stash of speed he hadn’t been using before."
The numbers certainly make you sit up. Bortolotti’s Lamborghini was lugging around an extra 45kg on Sunday compared to Saturday, thanks to mid-weekend BoP adjustments and success ballast from his earlier win.
Meanwhile, Rast’s BMW had shed 20kg, making the weight difference between the two cars a substantial 65kg by the time Sunday’s race rolled around. Yet, Bortolotti’s Lamborghini consistently clocked lap times in the 1m29.7s bracket, seemingly defying the laws of weight and physics.
Even Torsten Schubert, Rast’s team boss, expressed surprise. "If you can still be that fast with 120kg of ballast on board, then it’s time for the organisers to take a closer look. Maybe we are dealing with overperformance here."
Bortolotti’s strong weekend wasn’t just about Sunday. In Saturday’s race, he qualified in fourth place and then went on to dominate the race, clinching his first win of the season.
The race began on a damp track, keeping drivers cautious in the early laps. But as the track dried out and drivers switched to slick tyres, Bortolotti held off a charge from Mercedes driver Maro Engel to win by 1.3 seconds.
Bortolotti later described his race as "like a qualifying stint from start to finish," pushing hard through every lap. Yet, Engel, who finished second, wasn’t entirely convinced by Bortolotti’s version of events. "I started using the ideal racing line early on, but I noticed that Mirko didn’t. That made it clear that even with the extra weight, he’d be a force to reckon with on Sunday."
Sunday’s race saw Bortolotti finish just outside the top three in fourth place, enough to extend his championship lead over Kelvin van der Linde but, crucially, avoiding another success ballast penalty for the Hockenheim finale.
Some in the paddock speculated that this was all part of a clever strategy, with one insider suggesting Bortolotti deliberately slowed down to avoid the podium and the extra weight it would bring for the next race.
Yet, Bortolotti’s run wasn’t without fault. On his out-lap, he braked too late and ran wide at Turn 2, a clear indication that he was pushing the limits of the car, casting doubt on theories that he intentionally held back.
As the DTM circus heads to Hockenheim for the championship decider, the conversation around the Lamborghini Huracan’s BoP categorisation will undoubtedly continue.
One thing is for sure; Bortolotti is entering the final showdown in prime position, with the championship lead in hand. Whether or not the Huracan’s performance is reined in before the final race will be a topic of great interest.