After six out of eight ADAC GT Masters weekends, Jürg Aeberhard has mixed feelings about his performance to date: "I'm not really satisfied with my results so far." The 27-year-old from Switzerland is a newcomer to the series, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Farnbacher Racing. Before the 2013 season, he spent several years successfully contesting the DMV-TCC series in a Porsche 993 GT2.

Aeberhard, who can justifiably be described as a self-taught racing driver, is finding many of the parameters in the ADAC GT Masters rather different to what he has been used to: "I had to learn the art of racing for myself and to work out the ideal racing line on my own. In the past, I have done all the preparatory work on the Porsche and entered it for the race myself. Farnbacher Racing are the first team I have ever driven for. In addition, some of the tracks are unfamiliar and I've had to get used to the Porsche 911 GT3 R, because although I've had many years' experience of Porsche racing cars, there are 911s and 911s. For example, there is a world of difference between the turbo Porsche and the 911 GT3 R. With the turbo, you have to take a very different racing line from the GT3 R. I have acclimatised myself really well to the Porsche GT3, but I sometimes still find myself taking the wrong line. The habits that you have learnt over a five-year period aren't forgotten all that quickly."

After a difficult start to the season, Aeberhard's form has taken a sharp upward turn in the races at the Red Bull Ring and the Lausitzring. At the two venues in Austria and Brandenburg, he shared the cockpit with a new co-driver, David Jahn: "In the first six events , my partner was Tomas Pivoda, but our driving style was very different, which had implications for the vehicle setup. I thought I could compensate for this purely by adapting the way I drove, but ultimately, it just wasn't working. Now David and I have an identical driving style, and we both agree on how the car should be prepared. We are in complete harmony with each other and with our team, Farnbacher Racing. David is a great team-mate and has adjusted very quickly to the demands of the series, so together we have taken a big step forward over the last few races. The Red Bull Ring weekend was the first time he had sat in a Porsche 911 GT3 R, but we were very fast right from the word go. I am very glad that we will be going through to the end of the season together."

Just how well suited the pair are can be seen from their results. In qualifying at the Red Bull Ring, Aeberhard achieved a respectable P12 in the Porsche with the distinctive neon yellow livery. The second race in Austria was even more promising: "We were up to seventh at the Red Bull Ring when we sustained damage to our drive shaft," says Aeberhard with regret.

He now plans a much more long-term involvement with the ADAC GT Masters . "I think that this series is perfect for a driver like myself; in fact, there really is no better GT3 series in Europe at the moment. I see my first season as a learning year. In 2014, I would like to benefit from the experience that I have accumulated during the current campaign, but obviously there is always a question mark over the budget for the coming season. Our race pace has been good over the last couple of weekends, and by the time this season is over, we would like to have established ourselves in a mid-table position. The ADAC GT Masters is an incredibly well-matched competition. I'm not a professional racing driver, I have very little opportunity to test and I have to go out and earn a living during the working week. If you can hold your own with the midfield of the ADAC GT Masters under these conditions, then that has to be considered a very good performance."

Aeberhard has set himself an ambitious target for his debut season in the ADAC GT Masters: "We have to get a Top Ten finish some time this year; we definitely want to get on the championship scoreboard. That might be a tall order at the Slovakia Ring, but I intend to notch up my first points at or before the Hockenheim grand finale."