DTM Portimao: Auer leads Mercedes 1-2 as slow restart dents Bortolotti's charge

Factory Lamborghini driver Bortolotti led the first part of the race with ease from pole position, putting several seconds between himself and the chasing pack led by the Winward Mercedes of Auer.

But the race was turned on its head on lap 19 when Bortolotti’s Grasser Racing team-mate Rolf Ineichen stopped on track at Turn 1 shortly after his pitstop, bringing out the safety car.

After a brief intervention period, Bortolotti's Lamborghini was simply slow to accelerate when the race resumed and he tumbled down the order, allowing Auer to come through and take the lead of the race. 

From there on, the Austrian was untouchable out front, clinching his eighth-career victory in the DTM by just over a second.

HRT Mercedes driver Luca Stolz made rapid gains after an early pitstop on lap 8, finishing a strong second in his first DTM race as a full-timer.

Bortolotti recovered from his botched safety car restart to claim the final spot on the podium, repassing the GruppeM Mercedes of Maro Engel into Turn 1 on the last lap of the race.

Engel was later hit with a five-second penalty for a pitstop infringement, dropping to 10th place in the final ranking.

Mirko Bortolotti, Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

This promoted last year’s title contender Kelvin van der Linde to fourth in the Abt Sportsline Audi, the South African recovering from a poor qualifying that left him 17th on the grid in the 29-car field.

Porsche drivers also showed improved race pace after struggling in qualifying, with Dennis Olsen finishing a strong fifth for the SSR Performance team on the Stuttgart-based marque’s debut in the DTM, three places ahead of team-mate Laurens Vanthoor.

Abt Audi’s Ricardo Feller profited