Team Schubert Motorsport has a double home race with Races 13 and 14 of the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season; although the team is from the east of Germany, the Ring is the teams 'second home', and the lady driver from nearby Aachen, Claudia Hürtgen, who shares the drive in the BMW Z4 GT3 with her Bavarian teammate Dominik Schwager can also claim a home advantage in the Eifel, after twelve races, she is in seventh place in the rankings in the run-up to the penultimate race weekend of the season. In an interview with us, she gives her take on the two ADAC GT Masters races that mark the start of the final dash to the end of the season.

You began the season well with podium finishes during the first three race weekends, but the points yield since has not been all that great until just before the weekend at the Lausitzring. What has been happening?

"Things went really well in the first few events and we achieved two podium finishes in Oschersleben and in Zandvoort. We've been going through a lean spell since then: we've had accidents to contend with, and penalties, things simply did not go our way. And yet, we are in it to win the title. So in that respect, we are not at all satisfied, there's room for improvement."

Generally speaking, do you think that the package of team, car and drivers is competitive?

"The team could not have done a better job in providing the perfect car for us. As far as performance goes, much more might be possible, actually. Our results in practice show that we are singing from the right hymn sheet, though. But in this championship, it's just so incredibly close, and if you get a bit unlucky or tangle with other competitors in the middle of the race action, then you can soon drop back down the field."

Now it's time for your home race at the Nürburgring - do you have any special feeling about that as a professional racing drive.

"I always look forward to the Nürburgring. It's my second home, and I enjoy lining up on the grid there. I live in Munich now but was born in Aachen and so started my career at the circuits nearby - at the Nürburgring, but also in Spa and Zolder. At any rate, I intend finishing on the podium in the ADAC GT Masters at least once more this season."

What do you think of your prospects for this home race?

"The Z4 should run really well around the Grand Prix circuit at the Nürburgring. That much was already becoming apparent at the races during the Truck Grand Prix weekend: we secured third position, our best qualifying result so far, but we were unable to do more than sixth place in the rain-affected race. Nevertheless, from a performance point of view, it was okay. A key section for us is the NGK chicane: in the ADAC GT Masters, the flowing motorbike version is used, which suits the BMW Z4 better, since we lose time at this point on the tighter Grand Prix circuit."