The first half of the ADAC GT Masters season produced plenty of winners and set new highlights with a variety of drivers finishing on top, a new all-time record and two partners who have proved unstoppable. Six driver pairings in six different supercars have each won a race victory so far. Never before have so many different drivers stood on the podium during the first half of the season. Things were even more exciting as regards the top position with a total of 19 changes in the lead in the eight races. So far, supercars from all eight marques in the field have now racked up kilometres in the lead. Sebastian Asch (29, GER) and Luca Ludwig (26, GER/both Team Zakspeed) did not let that worry them. The Mercedes-Benz drivers are having a dream season. The two sons of racing drivers finished in the top four in all eight races, something that no driver pair has ever managed before. The result is clear. With 120 points, the Zakspeed duo start the summer break in a supreme position at the top. No previous, ‘half-time´ champions have ever had more points than Asch/Ludwig at this stage.
Ludwig/Asch: Greatest racing experience and most points
Asch and Ludwig are championship leaders, but, having the most combined racing experience in the series, they both know very well that there is still a long way to go to the title. "We must watch BMW in particular, because in the second half of the season, there are two circuits, the Sachsenring and Zandvoort, on which BMW have always won in recent years," said Ludwig, thinking mainly of the winners of two races this season, Dominik Baumann (22, A)/Klingmann (24, GER/both BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert). "I see BMW as our strongest opponents in the second half of the season. Things are looking good for us, but we must continue to work as well as we have done so far."
"We managed the first half well, and now we must ensure that we are successful once again during the second half," said Asch, who already knows how to win the ADAC GT Masters title from the 2012 season. Porsche driver Klaus Bachler (23, A/GW IT Racing Schütz Motorsport) has also been a close rival of the championship leaders along with BMW duo Baumann/Klingmann. Andreas Wirth (30, GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (25, GER/both Callaway Competition) have come close to lifting the winner´s trophy four times so far. But the most successful duo from the 2014 season in terms of wins came home in second place or had to retire their Corvette just before the end of the race and are still anxious to secure their first win of the season.
Bentley and Lamborghini impress
Bentley made a brilliant debut. In the season opener at Oschersleben, the Continental secured two pole positions straightaway – something that no other newcomers have ever managed to do. Their maiden victory followed that first weekend. After securing another podium, Bentley drivers Luca Stolz (19, GER) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (33, NL/both Bentley Team HTP) are ranked fifth in the standings in the British muscle coupé.
Lamborghini made the best comeback of the first half of the season. After a fallow period lasting four years, Tomas Enge (38, CZ) and David Russell (33, AUS/both Reiter Engineering) secured victory again at the Red Bull Ring in the Gallardo. The maiden win secured by Mirko Bortolotti (25, A) and Adrian Zaugg (28, RSA/both GRT Grasser Racing) for the brand new Lamborghini Huracán in a sprint race in the second round in Austria also caused a stir.
SPORT1 shows more of the ADAC GT Masters live on TV than ever before
All-time records were also set by ADAC GT Masters television partner SPORT1. Never before has the Super Sports Car League been featured for so many hours on live TV. SPORT1 broadcast some 220 minutes of live programming every weekend, complemented by extensive reporting on digital channel, SPORT1+. All races are also available online as a live stream during 2015 at: adac.de/gt-masters.
Season second half kicks off at Nürburgring after summer break
The second half of the season promises to be very exciting. It starts with the Nürburgring, is followed by the Sachsenring and an excursion to the Netherlands for the Zandvoort fixture and ends with the finale at Hockenheim. Bernd Schneider (50, GER/CH, HP Racing) will be back in the line-up at the Nürburgring (August 14th-16th). The DTM record-breaking champion caused a buzz in the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG at Spa-Francorchamps (B), posting the fastest lap ever in the ADAC GT Masters in qualifying.
The start of the second half of the season will be a special highlight for championship leaders Asch/Ludwig. The Nürburgring is the home circuit of Ludwig, who lives in Bonn, and Asch will be contesting his 100th race in the ADAC GT Masters in the Eifel on Saturday. In any case, he will finish the weekend on top. He has already made sure of that in the previous eight races.
Tickets, including access to the paddock, start at 20 euros
Fans who want to experience ADAC GT Masters action live at the track can now purchase tickets in advance. Prices start at 20 euros and include access to the paddock. ADAC members can take advantage of the ADAC preferential scheme. Tickets are available online at www.adac.de/gt-masters and at www.eventim.de, from any ADAC branch office and from more than 20,000 Eventim outlets throughout Europe.
The eight events and 16 races of the 2015 ADAC GT Masters season are to be staged at venues in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. ADAC GT Masters races will again be shown live by ADAC new live-TV exclusive partner SPORT1, who will broadcast all 16 ADAC GT Masters races live and in their entirety in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Broadcasts will normally begin at 1 pm on race weekends.