Mirko Bortolotti, from Lamborghini Super Trofeo to SC63 Hypercar

If you think that Mirko Bortolotti's destiny is linked to Lamborghini, you're not completely wrong, even if everyone still remembers his brief stint with Audi in 2020, the year of the pandemic. His adventure with the sister brand lasted just one season, before he returned to the Bull brand. When we think of Lamborghini Squadra Corse, we think first of Mirko Bortolotti.

Aged 34, the native of Trento in northern Italy has had an atypical career, moving from Formula 1 to the Renault Megane Trophy in less than two years. Here's a look back at a driver who bounced back via the Lamborghini Super Trofeo, a championship to the highest level.

If you visit Mirko Bortolotti's official website, which is still under construction, you'll see a bold 'don't blink'. True competitor, the Italian driver knows what he wants. Before joining the Lamborghini fold, Mirko Bortolotti followed the path from karting to single-seater racing, with hopes of Formula 1 like any self-respecting driver. 

After Italian series such as Formula Azzura and Italian Formula Renault, the Italian's career really took off in 2008, when he won the Italian F3 title with Lucidi Motors, taking 15 podiums in 16 races. That year, he fight with Edoardo Piscopo and drove in the same team than Francesco Castellacci. His title got him noticed, and Ferrari offered him an F1 test at Fiorano at the end of 2008, in the company of Salvatore Cicatelli and Edoardo Piscopo. He was faster than any driver at the wheel of the F2008.

Red Bull thought there might be something to do with Mirko Bortolotti, and the energy drink supported his move to Formula 2 in 2009 with MotorSport Vision, where he finished 4th in the championship behind Andy Soucek, Robert Wickens and Mikhail Aleshin. There were even rumours that he would join Scuderia Ferrari in F1 in 2009 to replace the injured Felipe Massa. It won't be...

Then, he moved on to the brand-new GP3 Series with Addax Team, before making a dazzling return to Formula 2 in 2011, again with MotorSport Vision, where he took the crown with seven victories. At that time, Bortolotti still believed in his F1 dreams, especially when Williams offered him a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2011.

Mirko Bortolotti's single-seater adventure came to an end, however, and he had no choice to stop. Of course, there will be a runner-up spot in Formula Acceleration 1 in 2014, in the only season of the series won by Dutchman Nigel Melker.

You may have missed it, but Mirko Bortolotti drove a BMW Z4 GT3 for Schubert Motorsport at two ADAC GT Masters meetings in 2012. Contracts were hard to come by, but Team Oregon trusted him to drive in the Renault Megane Trophy. Bingo with the title at the end of the 2013 season.

While Lamborghini Squadra Corse is not yet really up and running, Mirko Bortolotti tries his hand at the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe in Pro-Am, where he finishes fourth on behalf of Bonaldi Motorsport in 2014. He combines his season with the Italian GT on a Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 entered by Imperiale Racing, the Sant'Agata Bolognese-based brand's official "carrozzeria". 

That's where it all started for Mirko Bortolotti with Lamborghini, which was looking for a driver to develop its future GT3, the Huracan GT3, which is none other than the first GT3 model developed in-house since the Gallardo was the private work of Hans Reiter.

"I joined Lamborghini in 2014, when we were still racing the Gallardo, which was competing in its final season, and developing the Huracan," explains Mirko Bortolotti. "Lamborghini's previous motorsport boss, Giorgio Sanna, knew me from my single-seater career and Lamborghini was looking to develop its official team. So it was the perfect time for me, because I didn't know where racing was going to take me at the time, as single-seaters and F1 seemed pretty complicated to me."

Lamborghini's involvement in Super Trofeo was crucial for the Italian driver: "I made my debut in Italian GT and Super Trofeo, where I was immediately successful. I won my first race in Italian GT and Lamborghini pretty much signed me straight away, even though we waited until the beginning of 2015 to officially announce it." 

The rest is history. There's the 2017 Blancpain GT Series (Endurance) title with Grasser Racing Team, a runner-up spot in the 2019 ADAC GT Masters for Grasser by Orange 1, two GTD class wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona (2018/2019), one at the 12 Hours of Sebring (2019) and a DTM 2023 season ending in second place.

Since 2015, Mirko Bortolotti has been a member of almost all the Lamborghini teams: Grasser Racing Team, K-PAX Racing, FFF Racing Team, Paul Miller Racing, Imperiale Racing, T3 Motorsport, TR3 Racing, Emil Frey Racing, Barwell Motorsport, SSR Performance, Iron Lynx. 

There are many who want to follow Mirko Bortolotti's path in Lamborghini Super Trofeo (Europe, Asia, America) and make a name for themselves at Sant'Agata Bolognese. This weekend, the official Lamborghini Squadra Corse driver will contest the 6 Hours of Spa in the SC63, proof if any were needed that the one-make series can lead to the premier Endurance category within a World Championship.