In the steps of Mirko Bortolotti (part 1)

Smiling, Mirko Bortolotti joins us in the wake of the drivers' briefing on Tuesday, the day before the first sessions in Le Mans. A constant for the Italian driver but easily imaginable in this afternoon. Mirko Bortolotti knows 24-hour races well from his GT programmes with Lamborghini, but this week he is taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a rookie.

Driving in one of the Oreca 07 LM P2 cars of the WRT team, Bortolotti will be returning to an environment that was familiar to him from his brief stint as an official Audi driver in 2020. This will provide him with an element of stability in what is a complete discovery, from the circuit to the car. But who wouldn't be thrilled to start the race in Le Mans?

" Everyone has their own feeling, but as soon as you step into the paddock here you feel this special atmosphere, the Italian confirmed to Endurance-Info. It's incredible, and really a chance to be here with WRT in LM P2. After two difficult years due to the pandemic, not only for the 24 Hours of Le Mans but for motorsport in general, it's great to have this feeling again. It's also good to see the fans in the paddock and around the track again. "

Having driven single-seaters in the first stages of his career, including the 2011 FIA Formula Two title, Mirko will be back in a car with much more aero than a GT3. A parameter he experienced again on Test Day, but not as much as he would have wanted.

"It was just a matter of learning the track and doing the laps, which I wasn't able to do as we expected, because we had a technical problem and had to stop for about two and a half hours in the box. So we lost a lot of track time, which is a shame, because every lap is important in this phase of the week.

This could have helped us to be faster. It's not ideal, but the laps I did were pretty good. I concentrated on learning the track and getting used to the car. I had already done two days of testing with the team before. It's a positive first step and I'm looking forward to the first free practice. "

Important week

Amongst the essential topic of the week in Le Mans, traffic management will undoubtedly be a focus for the WRT driver. This is always a particular gymnastic, especially in a field where he will have to manage Hypercars and GTE.

" I've already had races in GT where I was in the fastest class, but also the slowest, comments Mirko Bortolotti. I'm quite used to it, but here the car is not the same. It's interesting to see that the speed gap is quite different from what I expected with the GTEs. I thought it would be bigger. They are very fast. It's sometimes tricky in the braking zones because you can get the feeling that they can brake very late because of their tyres. This management will obviously be an important element of the week. For this, the Test Day was essential, because I was able to focus on this point with the LM P2 environment. From tomorrow onwards, we will be able to concentrate on other things. "

And in this way he will gain experience that could be useful in the near future. The 32-year-old driver is in fact part of the Lamborghini roaster, and remains the central element of Sant'Agata Bolognese's GT3 commitment, both in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe and in the DTM with Emil Frey. Endurance Cup champion in 2017, the native of Trento is considered one of the fastest drivers on the grid.

This makes him a logical favourite to aim for a place in the new LMDh programme (with the support of Ligier) recently announced by Giorgio Sanna's troops.

" It's fantastic that this is happening, confessed Bortolotti. It's incredible for the brand and a logical step to take after all the good things Lamborghini has done so far, especially in GT3. I look forward to the future."

Such a future can only bring a smile to the face, but Mirko remains focused on the immediate future. "As far as I'm concerned, at the moment I can only focus on 2022 on my GT and DTM programmes where we are performing well, but also focus on the 24 Hours of Le Mans."