Photo: DTM Media

Edoardo Mortara says Zandvoort glitch cost him the title

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Audi Sport driver Edoardo Mortara drove a perfect race today at Hockenheim to take his fifth win of the season. The result, however, wasn’t enough, and he lost out to BMW’s Marco Wittmann by just four points. The Italian reflected on the flawed penalty from Zandvoort, where he was given a drive-through in error by the officials.

“Without a doubt, this is the bitterest victory I’ve ever had,” Mortara told TouringCarTimes. “I don’t know where to start, this is a very difficult time.”

Mortara started from sixth on the grid, and was up to fourth by the end of the first lap. He had a few scuffs with Maxime Martin and Tom Blomqvist, who were defending stablemate Marco Wittmann. The Team Abt Sportsline driver had strong words against his competitors today: “I felt in the middle of the jungle, and I felt there were guys around me who were just trying to take me out. I had some unfair moves from the BMWs, but I managed to overtake them in the end.”

The Italian had an unusual weekend in terms of reliability, with technical issues during free practice and then a steering problem in qualifying: “I won, but the car was broken today, and it presented a bad performance. I still managed to stay in front, but it was very difficult to drive until the end like this.”

Mortara mentioned Zandvoort, when he was given a drive-through penalty after a timing system glitch said he had violated a slow zone.

“I lost the title by four points. If you look at what happened in Zandvoort, there I lost ten points which would have been enough to win the championship. Yes, it’s true that I could have had some better races, but I also lost out through situations that weren’t my fault.”

Looking back on a season when he was the strongest driver for Audi, Edoardo Mortara added: “I’m proud of my work this year, I won five races, some of them starting from P6. It’s not easy to win in the DTM, so I’ve shown I’m a good racer. This year I found some good self confidence, and I had great support from my mechanics.

“That way it’s easier to be competitive, because the DTM is about being faster in the end. So I’m happy about what I have achieved as a driver this year.”