Lamborghini leads DTM driver and manufacturer standings after the second win of the year at Norisring
Lamborghini claimed its second DTM victory of the season courtesy of SSR Performance’s Nicki Thiim on the streets of the Norisring in Nuremberg. Meanwhile, teammate Mirko Bortolotti snatched the lead of the championship after a pair of top five finishes.
The #94 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Thiim was the class of the field on Sunday, having taken pole position in the morning and leading comfortably before the mandatory pit-stops. The Danish driver, who finished fourth in Saturday’s opening race after qualifying second, came home just under a second clear of Maro Engel’s Mercedes, with Bortolotti taking the final place on the podium in third.
Along with his fifth place in race one and the points gained for starting second for Sunday’s second encounter, Bortolotti moved into the lead of the standings heading into the fifth round of the year at the Nürburgring in August. The latest victory also means that Lamborghini lead the Manufacturers championship.
Thiim’s victory is Lamborghini’s second of the 2024 DTM season – and SSR Performance’s first – with GRT – Grasser Racing Team’s Luca Engstler taking the win in the second race of the year at Oschersleben.
The Huracán GT3 EVO2 was on the pace all weekend at the five-turn, 2.162km circuit, with four cars inside the top 10 at the end of the first free practice session on Friday morning. Thiim and Bortolotti then confirmed the pace of the SSR cars with the third and fourth quickest times, respectively, in the second session. Come qualifying, due to the tight nature of the track, the field was split into two separate groups, with the grid determined by the quickest times from each session.
Bortolotti’s podium means he now holds a five-point margin in the championship standings over the Audi of Kelvin van der Linde, heading into the Nürburgring, historically a strong circuit for Lamborghini and where the Lamborghini Factory Driver claimed a victory last year.
