Race win takes Corvette duo Alessi/Keilwitz to top

• Corvette, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW ALPINA still in contention
• Leading group bunches up as final weekend looms
• Dolenc and Poulsen left to slug it out for amateurs title

The ADAC GT Masters is keeping everyone in suspense. As the championship battle moves into its final phase, 15,000 fans turned up for the penultimate weekend of the season at the Nürburgring. They saw the main contenders bunch even closer and two new claimants ensconce themselves at the top of the table. The Corvette duo of Diego Alessi (23, Villingen) and Daniel Keilwitz (40, Italy / Callaway Competition) were the winners of Sunday's race, a result that puts them in pole position for the championship. The BMW ALPINA B6 pairing of Dino Lunardi (33, France) and Maxime Martin (26, Belgium / ALPINA), winners on Saturday, crossed the line in second position. Sebastian Asch (26, Ammerbuch) and Maximilian Götz (26, Uffenheim / kfzteile24 MS RACING) in their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG had a sense of déja vu after Saturday's result - third place on the podium again. The leading group now consists of the podium party from Sunday's race plus previous championship leader Christian Engelhart (25, Kösching / Team Geyer & Weinig EDV / Schütz Motorsport) who, together with Porsche 911 co-driver Nick Tandy (27, GB), finished tenth today. Only 18 points separate the seven hopefuls as they go into the final weekend of the season at Hockenheim (28th - 30th September). "We got off to a great start and then controlled the race from the front," said a delighted Keilwitz after notching up his third win of the season.

Keyfacts: Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit, Race 2

Circuit length: 5,137 metres
Weather: 22°C, sunny
Pole position: Maxime Martin (ALPINA-BMW ALPINA B6), 01:56.201 mins
Winner: Diego Alessi/Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition - Corvette)
Fastest lap:Nicolas Armindo (FROGREEN CO2 neutral-Porsche 911), 01:57.618 mins

Keilwitz outpaces pole-sitter Martin at start

Daniel Keilwitz laid the foundation stone for eventual victory in the first few metres of the race. The Corvette driver accelerated to the first corner ahead of pole-sitter Maxime Martin and took the lead. The BMW ALPINA with Martin at the wheel was hot on the heels of the Corvette for the whole of the first stint but was unable to close in for an attack. Maximilian Götz did not get off to the best of starts. The Mercedes driver lost a couple of positions on the opening lap but then managed to work his way past the Corvette of Heinz-Harald Frentzen (45, Neuss / Callaway Competition) and the Aston Martin V12 Vantage driven by Johannes Stuck (25, Austria / Young Driver AMR) to reclaim third position.

After the compulsory pit stop, the order at the front of the field remained unchanged. Alessi in the Corvette continued to control the race ahead of the BMW ALPINA which was now being driven by Dino Lunardi. Alessi finally crossed the line 2.1 seconds ahead of Lunardi. A further 0.9 seconds behind was the pistachio green BMW ALPINA followed by the black Mercedes-Benz of Asch and Götz. The victory for Alessi and Keilwitz took them back to the top of the table. "Thanks to the fantastic groundwork done by Daniel and to the fact that we have an absolutely perfect car, I had an easy job today," said the table-topping Alessi. "After my very good start, I still wasn't able to shake off the challenge from the BMW ALPINA, but as the race went on, I managed to pull out a small safety margin," said Keilwitz. "We are now at the top, but the finale at Hockenheim in two weeks' time is certainly going to be hard for us." Going into the two last races, Alessi and Keilwitz are seven points clear of Christian Engelhart who in turn is under threat from Asch and Götz lurking two points behind. Lunardi and Martin may be 18 points adrift of the leaders, but with 50 more up for grabs, their title hopes are still very much alive.

The Stuck brothers - Ferdinand and Johannes - finished fourth in their Aston Martin V12 Vantage, their best result of the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season. As on Saturday, Maximilian Buhk (19, Dassendorf) and Andreas Simonsen (22, Sweden / HEICO Motorsport) in their Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG took the chequered flag in fifth.

Positions six to eight were claimed by three local favourites: Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Corvette he shares with Henry Zumbrink (28, NL) finished sixth while Claudia Hurtgen (41, Aachen) partnered by Dominik Schwager (35, Munich / Schubert Motorsport) in their BMW Z4 crossed the line in seventh position ahead of Frank Stippler (37, Bad Münstereifel) and Christian Mamerow (27, Waltrop / Mamerow Racing) in their Audi R8.

Another win for Dolenc in amateur standings

Victory in the amateur classification went to Swen Dolenc (44, Maulbronn), who finished ninth overall in the Porsche 911 he shares with Martin Ragginger (24, Austria / FACH AUTO TECH). Kristian Poulsen (36, Denmark / Young Driver AMR), who is Dolenc's closest pursuer in the battle for the amateur crown, recovered well after team-mate Christoffer Nygaard (26, Denmark) was spun round on the first stint to finish as second-best placed amateur . Georg Engelhardt (50, Langensendelbach / Team GT3 Kasko) secured third place in his Porsche 911. Going into the final weekend, Dolenc has a 24-point lead over Poulsen. Two-time amateur champion Toni Seiler (54, Switzerland / Callaway Competition), currently third in the table, goes home pointless after the two Nürburgring races and is consequently out of contention for the title.