Andreas Wirth (29) and Daniel Keilwitz (25) capped off a perfect ADAC GT Masters weekend in front of around 18,000 spectators at Hockenheim by making it two race wins out of two. Driving a Callaway Competition Corvette, Wirth and Keilwitz won both races in the grand finale to the 2014 season. "There is no better way to finish a season than with two successive victories, so we have good reason to feel well satisfied," said Keilwitz after notching up race win number six of the campaign. Over a pulsating last few laps, Jaap van Lagen (37) and Christian Engelhart (27) in a GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche secured second place, a result that was enough to confirm van Lagen's runner-up spot in the drivers' standings. Luca Stolz (19) and Maximilian Götz (28) driving an HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG claimed the final podium place. Newly crowned ADAC GT Masters champions Kelvin van der Linde (18) and René Rast (27) finished sixth in their Audi R8, at the same time clinching the team title for Prosperia C Abt Racing.
Keilwitz storms into immediate lead
The first stint of the race in the last ADAC GT Masters fixture of the season turned into a veritable parade of Corvettes. Keilwitz stormed into the lead from pole position ahead of Callaway Competition team-mate Andreas Simonsen (24). By the time the mandatory pit stop window opened, the two Corvettes were six seconds up on Dominik Baumann (22) in his PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4. When Keilwitz handed the car over to co-driver Wirth, the local favourite looked equally comfortable at the front. It was a different story just behind, however, as Simonsen's partner Toni Seiler (56) came under pressure from Claudia Hürtgen in the BMW. Seiler spun off track, triggering a safety car period that lasted two laps.
Wirth successfully defended the lead on the restart. To his rear, Hürtgen dropped down to fourth behind Engelhart in the Porsche and Stolz in the Mercedes-Benz. Two laps after the restart, the safety car had to be deployed for a second time after a glancing collision between Sebastian Asch's (28) Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 and the Prosperia C Abt Audi R8 driven by Christer Jöns (27). While Wirth easily maintained control after the second restart to bank a fourth win of the season for himself and Keilwitz, Hürtgen once again came off worst, dropping back to P6 behind the Audi R8 of newly crowned champions van der Linde and Rast as well as the TONINO Herberth Porsche 911 of Robert Renauer (29) and Martin Ragginger (26). Van der Linde and Rast were subsequently handed a time penalty as the result of a contact with Hürtgen in the scrap for fourth place and were ultimately placed sixth. Consequently, Renauer and Ragginger moved up into fourth place ahead of Baumann and Hürtgen.
The P6 secured by van der Linde and Rast was enough to give Prosperia C Abt Racing led by former ADAC GT Masters champion Christian Abt the team title ahead of Callaway Competition. This latest success means that Prosperia C Abt Racing have double cause for celebration, with title wins in both drivers' and team standings.
"I got off to a good start, and Andreas did a great job of watching my back during the first few laps, which meant we were able to draw away," said Keilwitz. "This double victory at the team's home venue is the perfect way to finish the season. The Corvette was developed by Callaway in Hockenheim. It's great that we've now been able to win here with this car for the first time, and moreover to make it two wins out of two."
Wirth kept a cool head on his way to victory, despite the two safety car periods: "I had lots of confidence in the car, so I didn't get flustered on the two restarts. Two wins on home turf, that's more than anyone could wish for."
By finishing second, van Lagen also secured the runner-up spot in the drivers' championship. "Our race on Saturday was a disaster and unfortunately cost us the chance of challenging for the championship today," said the Dutchman. "We're still puzzled as to how we came to make that mistake in Saturday's race. Anyway, our focus today was on finishing as runner-up. I went on an all-out offensive from start to finish, and Christian did a good job of maintaining second place to the finish line. This result is fantastic. I'm ranked second in the standings this year, and hopefully, I'll finish one place higher up the table at the end of next season."
Patrick Assenheimer (22) sharing the cockpit of a Callaway Competition Corvette with 2013 ADAC GT Masters champion Diego Alessi (42) finished in seventh place ahead of the Reiter Engineering Chevrolet Camaro driven by Albert von Thurn und Taxis (31) and Tomas Enge (38). Luca Ludwig (25) and Harald Schlegelmilch (26) in a BKK MOBIL OIL Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG crossed the line in ninth position. The last championship point of the 2014 ADAC GT Masters season went to Swiss amateur Remo Lips (32) and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Lennart Marioneck (25); the Callaway Competition duo also took the class win in the Gentlemen standings.
Having already wrapped up the 2014 Gentlemen title in Saturday's race, Herbert Handlos (31) in a TONINO Herberth Porsche, ably supported by Alfred Renauer (29), took second place in the class. Anton Wossos (48) and Nathan Wolf (45) driving a Porsche entered by GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport finished the final race of 2014 in P3.