Highlights from first half of ADAC GT Masters

• Six different winners in first eight races
• Corvette pair Alessi/Keilwitz have covered most kilometres in the lead so far
• BMW drivers with season ticket for Podium

The first half of the ADAC GT Masters season thrilled everyone with plenty of hard-fought scraps, exciting finishes and some surprising winners. Time to take stock of the highlights from the first eight races before the second half of the Super Sports Car League season starts at the Red Bull Ring this coming weekend (9th-11th August).

Winners through and through: BMW have achieved the most race wins so far. Z4 drivers have claimed the top spot of the podium three times in all. Two victories went to the Audi R8, whilst the Corvette, Ford GT and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG achieved one success each. Only Audi pair Christopher Mies (24, Germany) / René Rast (26, Germany/Prosperia C Abt Racing) and championship leaders Claudia Hürtgen (41, Germany)/Dominik Baumann (20, Austria / PIXUM Team Schubert) in the BMW Z4 have secured two race wins so far.

Fast gentlemen: Having notched up four wins, Porsche are placed just ahead of Corvette with three victories in the gentlemen category. BMW have achieved one class victory to date. René Bourdeaux (38, Germany / Tonino by Herberth Motorsport) is the most successful amateur driver so far with three class wins, followed by Toni Seiler (55, Switzerland/ Callaway Competition) with two victories in the Corvette. Christina Nielsen (21, Denmark, Farnbacher Racing), Paul Green (20, Germany / Vita4One) and Gerd Beisel (55, Germany / RWT Racing Team) have each finished on the top rung of the gentlemen podium once.

Consistent: Andreas Simonsen (23, Sweden) and Sergey Afanasiev (25, Russia / Polarweiss Racing) in the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG are the only driver pairing so far to secure points in all eight races of the season.

Cups galore: BMW drivers claimed the greatest number of cups in the first eight races run so far. Nine out of 24 possible podium places went to Z4 drivers. Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche driver finished on the podium four times. Cups went to Corvette drivers twice, whilst Ford drivers managed to make the top three once in a race. Simon Knap (24, Netherlands)/Jeroen den Boer (25, Netherlands / DB Motorsport), Maximilian Buhk (20, Germany)/Maximilian Götz (27, Germany / Polarweiss Racing) and Mies/Rast and Hürtgen/Baumann finished on the podium most frequently with three podiums each.

High drama: The closest finish was in the second race at the Sachsenring. In the team-internal duel between the two PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4s, Max Sandritter (24, Germany) and Jens Klingmann (23, Germany) beat Hürtgen/Baumann by just 0.6 seconds. The most resounding victory went to Hürtgen/Baumann at the Nürburgring. The BMW duo won with a lead of 9.2 seconds on the Corvette of Toni Seiler (55 Switzerland)/Jeroen Bleekemolen (31, Netherlands/Callaway Competition).

Best Rookie: Philip Frommenwiler (23, Switzerland / Farnbacher Racing) is the most successful ADAC GT Masters newcomer to date. The Swiss Porsche driver is eighth in the standings at the season mid-point and has already achieved two podiums.

International field: In the first eight races, a total of 71 different drivers from 14 different countries appeared in the line-up. Drivers from India and the USA took part in the ADAC GT Masters for the first time.

Extremely competitive field: One second covered the 18 fastest super cars in practice at the Nürburgring, and the entire field of 25 sports cars was separated by only 1.5 seconds.

Excitement: The lead changed 19 times in the eight ADAC GT Masters races run to date.

Way out in front: Diego Alessi (41, Italy) and Daniel Keilwitz (24, Germany / Callaway Competition) in their Corvette Z06 covered the highest number of kilometres in the lead. The two ADAC GT Masters runner-ups from 2012 have so far led the field for 56 laps, which equates to 205 kilometres.

Pole positions: No driver has managed to secure more than one pole so far this season. Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Corvette drivers have twice occupied the top spot on the grid. Audi and BMW have achieved one pole position each so far.

Top speed: Lennart Marioneck (24, Germany / Callaway Competition) is the fastest driver in the ADAC GT Masters. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé was clocked doing 271km/h at Spa-Francorchamps in a Corvette. No other competitor has been able to match his top speed.

Record lap: Frank Kechele (26, Germany / Lambda Performance) in the Ford GT posted the fastest ADAC GT Masters lap in Spa-Francorchamps. In qualifying for the second race, Kechele put his Ford in pole position with an average speed of 181km/h. No one has ever achieved a higher lap average. That means that the Belgian Formula 1 circuit has taken the accolade from the Red Bull Ring of being the track with the highest average speed on the ADAC GT Masters calendar.

What will the second half of the season bring? The ADAC GT Masters begins the second half of the season at the Red Bull Ring amid stunning alpine scenery. The Super Sports Car League will guest three weeks later at the Lausitzring (30th August-1st September). For the first time, the Slovakia Ring will host the ‘semi-final’ of the ADAC GT Masters (13th-15th September) ahead of the finale which is set to take place at the Hockenheimring (27th-29th September) for the third consecutive time.