He was just 20-years-old back then but managed to surprisingly win both races during the season opener in a Corvette Z06.R GT3 along with Marc Hennerici. Ludwig likes to remember that weekend in April 2009: "That was one of the best experiences of my life, so I'm always pleased to return there."

The Super Sports Car League will again get its new season under way at Oschersleben (April 26th - 28th), and Luca Ludwig will be back in 2019 to contest his second season in the Ferrari 488 GT3 prepared by HB Racing but with Sebastian Asch as his 'new' old team-mate. Ludwig won the ADAC GT Masters title with the driver from Germany's south-west in 2015. "I'm delighted to be back racing with Sebastian," said Ludwig. "We had a very successful time together and not just in 2015 when we won the championship title but in 2016 as well when we notched up several victories. We get on really well, so it's great to be sharing a car again after two years."

By the way, it was the idea of their Austrian outfit to revive the successful Asch/Ludwig partnership: "That was great thinking by HB Racing. It would never have crossed our minds, but it's obviously terrific that everything has turned out so well."

Ludwig thinks he's well prepared for 2019: "I was at a disadvantage last year in that I wasn't doing much driving compared to many works drivers. That won't be the case this year, because I'll also be racing on the Nordschleife. The reduction in driving hours makes things more difficult, especially in qualifying when you have to pull everything together on a hot lap. It often happens that you also get a better understanding of the tyres thanks to the extra kilometres."

However, the second most successful driver in the ADAC GT Masters with twelve race wins to his name is not willing to make any predictions. "We are very well prepared on paper, but I don't want to forecast the future, as there are too many unknowns, like the new cars. We had a solid first season with the Ferrari in 2018 even though our performance deteriorated slightly during the year. But we'd developed an excellent setup that even Ferrari really liked. We took a different route to Ferrari, which enabled us to get the most out of our package. Now, of course, we hope to finish more consistently on the podium and score points more often."

Ludwig sees the changes to the regulations for 2019 in a positive light: "I think that the changes are very positive, because they ensure a more level playing field, especially with the adjustments to the handicap weight. Sebastian and I would have had to take on board an extra 30 kilos and as a result, would have had little chance against pairings carrying less in the way of handicap weight. With 20 kilos, we now have a chance to beat other driver combos with less weight on board if we can do a good job."