SSR Performance’s Bortolotti was unchallenged in the hour-long opening contest at the former German Grand Prix venue, resisting two safety cars periods and a brief rain shower to take the chequered flag by 1.1s over Winward Mercedes’ Lucas Auer. Championship leader Thomas Preining completed the podium in third.
As the race got underway at a dry Nurburgring circuit, with dark clouds hanging over, Bortolotti pulled off cleanly from pole, as Preining came under pressure from Audi duo Ricardo Feller and Kelvin van der Linde.
Van der Linde positioned his car on the outside into Turn 1 in a bid to pass Preining, but he was a passenger when Bortolotti’s team-mate Franck Perera misjudged his braking into the right-hander and slammed into the back of the Audi, sending him spinning down to last place.
The collision allowed Peining to hold second position behind Bortolotti, while Auer moved up to fourth with a brilliant launch from eighth on the grid.
At the front, Bortolotti started extending his advantage in the Lamborghini Huracan, pulling out a 4s lead by the time the pit window opened after 20 minutes of racing.
However, drivers were hesitant to head to the pits just yet, as there remained a chance of heavy rain hitting the track.
Spots of rain were clearly visible when Jack Aitken completed his mandatory pitstop, with the Emil Frey driver struggling on cold tyres in his Ferrari as parts of the track started to get damp.
The conditions soon caught out Toksport WRT’s Christian Engelhart, who lost control of his Porsche under braking for Turn 1, spinning rear-first into the Ayhancan Guven, who was circulating on the track right in front of him.
Source: Autosport