There are still some title issues to be resolved on this final weekend of the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season, but Swen Dolenc (FACH AUTO TECH) at least settled one of them: in the penultimate race of the season, the 44-year-old claimed the amateur championship ahead of time. His fiercest rival for the amateur crown, Aston Martin driver Kristian Poulsen (Young Driver AMR), had to retire from the race with a brake fault. That left Dolenc just needing to finish the race in order to take the title.

Dolenc was the best-placed of the amateur contenders, starting from 19th on the grid in the penultimate race of the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season. After a solid start, the red and white Porsche steadily progressed through the field to fourteenth, and by the time he handed over to team-mate Martin Ragginger for the second stint, he was already up to tenth. In the first half of the race, the leading Porsche was being pursued by Poulsen in his Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, by Remo Lips (Callaway Competition) in his Corvette Z06.R and by Porsche driver René Bourdeaux (Team GT3-Kasko). But the tenth lap proved to be decisive when Poulsen had to drop out on discovering a brake defect as he entered the hairpin.

After the changeover, Dolenc's teammate Martin Ragginger was able to push even further ahead. The Austrian was running fourth on the penultimate lap but was overtaken by two other cars just before taking the chequered flag, finishing sixth overall. Remo Lips has every reason to be pleased with his best result of the ADAC GT Masters season - his co-driver, race veteran Frank Schmickler, steered the yellow Corvette over the line as second-best placed car in the amateur stakes.

It was a tight contest for third. Alfred Renauer, team-mate of amateur driver Bourdeaux, almost ran out of fuel on the last lap, and before the man from Munich could switch to his reserve tank, former champion Christian Abt in his Audi R8 LMS ultra exploited the situation to overtake the Porsche in the Motodrom and snatch third place for partner Carsten Tilke (Prosperia uhc speed).

"I'm feeling very happy," said a jubilant Dolenc. "Winning the title today feels like a load has been lifted from my shoulders. I'm normally a pretty cool customer, but I had a bit of a restless night leading up to today's race. I got off to a super start. From 19th on the grid, I was already up to 13th after the first two laps, and I was subsequently able to make good even more positions. Then Martin took over and drove a very strong second stint."

Remo Lips was also relieved to have secured his first Top Three finish in the amateur classification: "I've made it onto the amateurs podium at long last. We've had some good races this season, but finally our hard work has borne fruit. At the start, I took a few direct hits, but after that, the race went well."

Carsten Tilke is also pleased to see the back of a ten-race run without reward: "After what seems like ages, it's great to be back on the podium again! This was by no means an easy race, because we were handed a drive-through penalty after I went a bit too fast past the yellow flags. Christian Abt then drove a sensational race in the second half and even overtook the third-placed Porsche on the last lap."

Bourdeaux finished fourth in the amateur classification ahead of Jan Stovicek (HEICO GRAVITY CHAROUZ) in his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 and the mixed-doubles pairing of Andrina Gugger/Otto Klohs in the second of two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs entered by FACH AUTO TECH.