As the second half of the ADAC GT Masters season gets underway, Klaus Bachler (24) is seeking to wrest the top spot in the standings from Luca Ludwig (26) and Sebastian Asch (29). Currently placed second in the championship, the Austrian driving a GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 has struck a massive blow by claiming pole position for Sunday´s race. His team-mate and fellow Austrian Martin Ragginger (27) made it a perfect quali for the Porsche duo by taking pole position for the race on Saturday. "I am very happy with our result; it´s the best possible situation to be in," said a beaming Klaus Bachler. "We´re both happy, but the main thing is to convert both of those pole positions into victories." Championship leaders Asch and Ludwig qualified second (race 1) and eight (race 2), but in technical check after qualifying their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was found below minimum weight and subsequently excluded from qualifying. Asch/Ludwig have to start from the back of the grid in both races. SPORT1 will be showing the races on Saturday and Sunday live and in full. Coverage will commence at 13:00 CEST.
Qualifying 1 for Saturday's race:
Pole position for the first race after the summer break was keenly contested. Corvette, Audi, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche swapped the lead several times during qualifying. Porsche driver Ragginger had a tough battle for pole position with championship leader Asch. Ragginger kept the upper hand in the scrap and secured top position on the grid with a small lead of just 0.034 seconds on Asch. Ragginger: "Qualifying went perfectly for us. Our Porsche was excellent today. It should hopefully be enough for victory if we don't make any mistakes."
Two Bentley Continental GT3s share the second row on the grid. Clemens Schmid (24, AUT) will line up in third position in front of Bentley Team HTP team-mate Luca Stolz (19, GER). Diego Alessi (43, ITA) in a Callaway Competition Corvette will start the race from fifth position in front of Switzerland's Rahel Frey (29, CH, YACO Racing), who achieved her best ever qualifying result in the ADAC GT Masters at the wheel of the Audi R8.
Qualifying 2 for the race on Sunday:
Philip Geipel (28, GER, YACO Racing) produced a surprise result. During qualifying for the race on Sunday, he took an early lead in the Audi R8 and for a long time looked like the sure winner of the qualifying. However, Bachler beat the Audi driver's time once again with three minutes left on the clock, pulling out a lead of 0.197 seconds and securing a double pole for Porsche team GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport.
Geipel will line up on the front row for the first time, followed by another Audi R8 driven by Nicki Thiim (26, DK, C.Abt Racing) and Fabian Hamprecht (20, GER, Bentley Team HTP) in the Bentley Continental. The third row of the grid on Sunday will be dominated by the two bright orange-coloured Audi R8s of kfzteile24 MS Racing with Marc Basseng (36, GER) and Edward Sandström (36, SWE) in fifth and sixth position respectively.
SPORT1 will broadcast both races live from the Nürburgring on Saturday and Sunday at 1.00pm. The races can be watched online as a live stream at www.adac.de/gt-masters.
Schumacher, Spengler and Götz visit ADAC GT Masters
The ADAC GT Masters is expecting to welcome some stars of other motorsport series at the Nürburgring as the second half of the season gets underway. Ex-Formula 1 and DTM driver Ralf Schumacher will be at the circuit on Saturday, while former DTM champion Bruno Spengler will be there on both Saturday and Sunday and will also take part in the Meet the Drivers autograph-signing session on Saturday afternoon. 2012 ADAC GT Masters champion Maximilian Götz, who is currently a member of the Mercedes-Benz DTM squad, will visit the Super Sports Car League on Sunday.
Rally action at the ADAC GT Masters with the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team
The ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team is at the Nürburgring on Sunday, giving fans a foretaste of ADAC Rallye Deutschland next weekend. Junior European Rally champion Emil Bergkvist from Sweden and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Marian Griebel are stopping off at the Nürburgring in their Opel ADAM R2s on their way to the German round of the World Rally Championship. The two Opel works drivers will sign autographs during the pit walk at 11.05am and will show fans a sample of their skill as cars line up on the ADAC GT Masters grid in the Mercedes Arena before Sunday's second heat.
Full programme for fans: eleven races, autograph session and pit walk
There will be plenty of on-track action during the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring on Saturday and Sunday, with no fewer than eleven races to watch. The support series include the ADAC Formula 4, the GT4 European Series making its second appearance, and two more touring car formats in the shape of the DTC of the DMSB/ADAC Procar and the Renault Clio Cup Central Europe. Fans need to make a special note in their diaries of three events over the weekend: on Saturday and Sunday there will be the pit walk commencing at 11.05am - a great opportunity to see the supercars close up; and at the 'Meet the Drivers' autograph session at 3pm in front of the ADAC Hospitality in the paddock, the most successful drivers from Saturday's race will be signing autographs and talking cars.