The ADAC Masters Weekend at the Sachsenring was a first-time experience in several respects for Mirko Bortolotti. The reigning Formula 2 champion had never before driven at the Sachsenring or, for that matter, in the 'Super Sports Car League' either. It was also his first race in a touring car; before that, the 22-year-old had only ever competed in various single-seater series.

"I took a test drive in an Audi DTM car in March in the run-up to the ADAC Masters Weekend at the Sachsenring," said Bortolotti, who has also chalked up a few laps in F1 testing, "but that's the only time I've ever had a roof over my head in a race car." As a reward for winning the Italian Formula 3 Championship, he was invited by Ferrari to put a Formula 1 car through its paces. Last autumn, the Italian (now resident in Vienna) was talent-spotted by Williams after clinching the Formula 2 title and asked to participate in the Abu Dhabi tests for the next generation of F1 drivers.

So sharing the BMW Z4 GT3 with Schubert Motorsport team-mate Abdulaziz Al Faisal and taking the third podium spot in Race 2 at the Sachsenring with flying colours represented something of a departure from routine. "I imagined driving a GT sports car would be rather different," admits Bortolotti. "It was quite a big step, especially as GT3 cars are also a bit slower than Formula cars and require a different driving style. Stranger still, for the first time in my career I found myself sharing the car with another driver! But in this line of business, you always have to be flexible, and I think I coped very well with the situation."

The partnership with Schubert Motorsport worked beautifully right from the start: "Everyone was quite surprised to see how fast we were when we arrived; they definitely weren't counting on us being so competitive from the word go. And for the team, it must have been great to see both BMW Z4s up with the front-runners at the Sachsenring."

Bortolotti is certainly not averse to the idea of competing in GT3 in parallel with his career in single-seater racing. "It's no secret that it is not easy to make headway in the open-wheel series, even with top results. So I've been looking round for alternatives, and the ADAC GT Masters is one of Europe's most prestigious GT competitions. I've found a very good team in Schubert Motorsport, and they have supplied us with a perfect car. Obviously, I'm still looking to advance my career in Formula racing, but I'm open to persuasion; the main thing is to be driving at a competitive level in whatever category of motorsport you happen to be in."

Bortolotti was impressed by what he saw of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring. "It's a great all-round package - very fan friendly. I was pleasantly surprised. The cars are great fun, and the fact that the field is so evenly matched obviously makes it very interesting from a driver's perspective. I'm very happy with my performance in my GT debut at the Sachsenring. I'm still short of experience in driving a GT3 sports car, but the Sachsenring weekend convinced me that I still have the potential to improve."

The BMW driver next has the chance to mount the podium in the upcoming ADAC GT Masters races to be contested on the same programme as the ADAC Truck Grand Prix during the weekend of 13th - 15th July at the Nürburgring, when he will once again be sharing the cockpit of the Schubert Motorsport BMW Z4 GT3 with Abdulaziz Al Faisal.