The ADAC GT Masters is girding its loins for the title showdown at the Hockenheimring this weekend (September 27th to 29th). The most exciting title fight ever in the history of the series is about to reach a climax with the final two Super Sports Car League races. Eleven drivers, led by current championship leaders Diego Alessi (41, Austria) and Daniel Keilwitz (24, Germany / Callaway Competition) in a Corvette, all have a chance of securing the title in these two final races. Apart from the Corvette duo at the top of the table, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi drivers will be pitching for the title. Whilst the winners in the drivers' championship will ultimately be decided at the Motodrom in southern Germany during Saturday's and Sunday's races (both races live on kabel eins TV, beginning at 12:00 pm), the battle for honours in the team standings and in the Gentlemen class will both be resolved in a to-the-wire finish.
Second shot at title for championship leaders Alessi/Keilwitz
In the run-up to the finale, Alessi and Keilwitz are in the same position that they were in twelve months ago. Last year, the Corvette drivers led the standings ahead of the finale but had to settle for the runners-up title. Keilwitz: "Of course, I hope things go much better for us in this year's finale. Our current position is good, plus Hockenheim is the home track for our team, Callaway Competition, so we know it very well. Our opponents will be very tough, though, for sure. If we can wrap up the title on Saturday, well, that would be a dream result. But being realistic, it will all probably hinge on Sunday's race."
Mercedes-Benz and Porsche share second place in standings
The Corvette duo's closest rivals, each pairing placed second in the rankings with a 14-point deficit, are: Robert Renauer (28, Germany / Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport), who shares a Porsche with Martin Ragginger (25, Austria), and defending champion Maximilian Götz (28 , Germany / Polarweiss Racing) together with Maximilian Buhk (20, Germany) in the Mercedes-Benz. Buhk has already secured one title ahead of the ADAC GT Masters finale at the weekend; the youngest driver in the ADAC GT Masters won the Blancpain Endurance Series at the Nürburgring. He now has a chance of lifting his second title in seven days at Hockenheim. Götz, on the other hand, could become the first driver ever in the history of the ADAC GT Masters to successfully defend his title. Götz: "I know what it's like to win the championship and I would like to experience the same emotions once again this year. Our Mercedes-Benz is very fast at Hockenheim, as we proved last year. But the situation at the top of the standings is indeed very exciting and anything can happen in the finale, you know."
Audi and BMW teams face tough task at Hockenheim
Winners of two races this season in the BMW Z4 Claudia Hürtgen (42, Germany / PIXUM Team Schubert) and Dominik Baumann (20, Austria) may have an uphill struggle but their situation is not completely hopeless. The rapid mixed doubles duo has a deficit of 25 points, but 50 points are still on the table for the winners at Hockenheim. Baumann is in a feisty mood: "We will go for the maximum at the finale. I hope we have two wonderful races and are in with a good chance of lifting the title. Racing is always very close at Hockenheim. Every driver and every team knows the track extremely well, since more testing is carried out there than anywhere else."
With a 33-point deficit, Christopher Mies (24, Germany) / René Rast (26, Germany / Prosperia C Abt Racing) in the Audi R8 also have a mathematical chance of taking the title, whilst Simon Knap (24, Netherlands) / Jeroen den Boer (26, Netherlands / DB Motorsport) are 43 points adrift in the BMW Z4.
For Mies and Rast, it is not just about the drivers' title at Hockenheim, winning the team title is just as important. In the team standings, Prosperia C Abt Racing led by former ADAC GT Masters champion and DTM driver Christian Abt have a nine-point lead on Callaway Competition.
Nielsen and Bourdeaux separated by one single point
The battle at Hockenheim in the Gentlemen class is even hotter than the fight for the drivers' and team titles. Christina Nielsen (21, Denmark / Farnbacher Racing) in a Porsche 911 travels to the Hockenheim finale with a minimal lead of just one point on title rival and fellow Porsche driver René Bourdeaux (38, Germany / Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport). Third-placed Remo Lips (31, Switzerland / Callaway Competition), who will be lining up in a Corvette aided by ADAC Sports foundation protégé Lennart Marioneck (24, Germany / Callaway Competition) also has a chance on paper of securing the title in the Gentlemen class.
Nissan and Corvette teams guest at finale
The ADAC GT Masters will welcome some important guests from England to this final race weekend. JRM Racing, who won the FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan in 2011 and are Nissan Motorsport (NISMO) partners in the development of the GT-R, will field two of the Japanese supercars in Hockenheim. Taking the wheel of the GT-Rs will be former DTM race winner Peter Dumbreck (39, Great Britain) and Matt Bell (23, Great Britain), plus Steven Kane (33, Great Britain) / Humaid Al Masaood (30, United Arab Emirates). To mark the end of the season, Gerd Beisel (55, Germany / RWT Racing) and Sven Barth (32, Germany) fielding a Corvette will once again be in the hunt for a podium finish in the Gentlemen category.