Success story in 16 acts: With impressive consistency and podium finishes in nine races, Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz drove the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 prepared by kfzteile24 MS RACING team to a title win. Here is the path taken by the two Mercedes-Benz drivers from Oschersleben at the start of the season in April to Hockenheim and the championship crown.

Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Races 1 and 2:

They jump the gun in the first race: Sebastian Asch is on the front row in the season opener but runs into Audi driver Christer Jöns going into the first turn. Asch has to pit and falls back down the field to 39th place. There follows a remarkable charge up the field that takes the black Mercedes to P9. In the second race, Asch/Götz are third on the grid and scrap with Christian Engelhart for victory in a thrilling final phase. In the closest finish of the season, Asch is only 0.392 seconds down at the chequered flag.

Zandvoort, Races 3 and 4:

At the Zandvoort premiere of the ADAC GT Masters, Asch and Götz start from grid positions three and eight. The first race ends with a P7, but they achieve a second podium finish by coming home in third place in the second race.

Sachsenring, Races 5 and 6:

After the first qualifying session at the Sachsenring is suspended, grid positions are decided according to positions in the standings. The Gullwing showing start number five is in fourth place on the grid and comes home in third position to claim another podium at the third race weekend of the season. But the second race is really tough: After starting from 15th place on the grid, Asch/Götz finish out of the points for the first time in P14.

Nürburgring Truck Grand Prix, Races 7 and 8:

Perfect qualifying session: Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz secure pole position in both races. Asch leads during the first two laps of Race One, but then René Rast squeezes past in the Audi. At the pit stop, kfzteile24 MS RACING Team make their only mistake of the whole season: Asch is brought in one lap too late for the compulsory pit stop and has to serve a stop-and-go penalty. After sitting out the penalty, they are consigned to seventh place. In the second race, Götz leads for the first three laps but then has to let Maxime Martin through in the BMW ALPINA. They are placed second at the finish, just 2.1 seconds behind the winners, Lunardi/Martin.

Red Bull Ring, Races 9 and 10:

The toughest weekend of the season. After qualifying, they are only 12th and 25th on the grid. But it turns out there was a problem: a defective differential. In the first race, a P9-finish secures another two points. A charge up the field on Sunday takes the Men in Black from position 25 on the grid to eleventh, missing the points by a whisker.

Lausitzring, Races 11 and 12:

Maximilian Götz is the main protagonist in one of the best scraps of the season. Going all out for victory, Nick Tandy in the Porsche puts enormous pressure on the 26-year-old during the second half of the race. Twice Götz draws alongside the Porsche but Tandy counterattacks to cross the finish line with a lead of 0.421 seconds. The scrap continues in the second race. But there are rumbling noises from the SLS AMG's gearbox, the only technical defect suffered by the black Mercedes in the course of the entire season. Asch still manages to come home in fourth place. The good points haul in the Lausitz sees the two kfzteile24 MS RACING Team drivers move up the standings to second place.

Nürburgring, Races 13 and 14:

It's the penultimate race weekend of the season and the second appearance for Asch and Götz at the Nürburgring where they keep alive their title chances with two third places. In the run-up to the finale at Hockenheim, the Mercedes pair are placed third in the standings, nine points down on championship leaders Alessi/Keilwitz.

Hockenheim finale, Races 15 and 16:

In the first race Asch/Götz again secure a points-scoring finish with a third place, however, they are still trailing title rival Christian Engelhart. But with six laps to go to the end of the race, the near-side rear tyre gives up the ghost and for the first time in the 2012 season, the black Mercedes SLS AMG fails to reach the finish line. And then a stroke of luck: two laps later, the same thing happens to Engelhart.

Sunday sees their finest hour: Götz is on the front row of the grid and maintains his position behind race leader Martin Ragginger right up until the changeover of drivers. Asch takes the lead in the second half of the race and goes on to win. This success now takes away any need for a calculator in working out their chances of emerging victorious in the championship battle: the Mercedes pair require just one win to be certain of victory. Asch/Götz dig deep and not only achieve their first win of the season but also lift the title.