They arrived at Hockenheim for the final weekend leading the standings but left with only the runners-up trophy: together with co-driver Diego Alessi, Daniel Keilwitz lost out on the home straight of the ADAC GT Masters championship. In the final race of the season, the two Corvette drivers from the Callaway Competition team had to concede defeat to the Mercedes duo of Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz. Keilwitz is no longer ruing the misfortune of missing out on the title by such a narrow margin. "I put that final race behind me relatively quickly," says the 23-year-old. "We didn´t really lose the title in Hockenheim. We´ve been dogged by technical problems for the whole of this season. We were unlucky in the opener at Oschersleben and in the races at the Red Bull and the Lausitzring; we lost a lot of points there."

Keilwitz considers the retirement at the Red Bull Ring to have been a critical factor in the title chase. Leading the pack with four laps to go, Diego Alessi had to park the Corvette due to engine failure: "Without this retirement, the ADAC GT Masters title campaign would certainly have taken a different turn. We lost 25 points there, which ultimately cost us the title."

The two races at Hockenheim were also an emotional rollercoaster for Keilwitz: "When Diego got sandwiched at the start of the first race and was unable to continue, I immediately wrote off our title chances. After that, I couldn´t even bear to watch the race. I returned to the garage ten minutes before the end to find that all was not lost, as our main competitors had both had punctures. That obviously wasn´t good news for our opponents, but it gave us hope."

However, the optimism evaporated after only a few laps of Race 2: "It became clear to me quite early on that we weren´t going to make it, because our car was simply too slow in the second race. Then, towards the end, Diego staged a fight-back, but unfortunately it wasn´t enough."

After narrowly missing out on the championship, Keilwitz has mixed feelings about the runner-up spot: "At the end of the day, only the title matters of course. Second place is still better than third, but this is outweighed by the disappointment."

Next year, Keilwitz intends to take a third crack at the title – the 2010 FIA European GT3 champion is eager to line up for ADAC GT Masters in 2013: "It´s still too early to be specific, but if everything goes to plan, I could well imagine myself teaming up with Diego Alessi and Callaway again. I´m very happy as a member of Callaway Competition – they´ve done a fantastic job this year. And Diego is a great team-mate. We´ve both learnt a lot this season, and I would more than happy for our partnership to continue."