Facts and figures at half-time in the 2015 ADAC GT Masters

• The Corvettes accumulated the most lead kilometres in the first half of the season
• Cars with eight different badges on the grille set the fastest lap in the first eight races
• Mercedes-Benz drivers won the most trophies

Munich: It’s half-time in the ADAC GT Masters and the start of the summer break. After four exciting race weekends, the Super Sports Car League goes into a lull before the second half of the season starts at the Nürburgring on the weekend of 14th - 16th August. The first eight races have already generated plenty of action and interesting statistics. Here are the highlights, facts and figures from the first half of the season:

Leading the way: Andreas Wirth (30, GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (25, GER) in a Callaway Competition Corvette are still looking for their first victory of the season, despite having led the field for more kilometres than any other driver combination. They have spent a total of 88 laps (342 kilometres) in the lead, equivalent to a quarter of the race distance covered. Wirth and Keilwitz have their next opportunity to convert a race lead into a race win at the Nürburgring. The chances of that happening are enhanced by Wirth’s record of five wins on this track, more than any other driver in the ADAC GT Masters.

Diversity: Six driver pairings in six different brands of car were victorious in the first eight races. Of these, Sebastian Asch (29, GER) and Luca Ludwig (26, GER) in a Team Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz along with Dominik Baumann (22, AUT) and Jens Klingmann (24, GER) in a BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert Z4 GT3 are the only ones to have picked up two winners’ trophies.

Cosmopolitan field: The line-up for the 2015 ADAC GT Masters has included 51 drivers of 13 different nationalities.

Cup collectors: Current championship leaders Asch and Ludwig have so far collected the most trophies. The Zakspeed duo have made six podium appearances during the campaign. The most Top Three finishes for a manufacturer in 2015 have gone to Mercedes-Benz. With the exception of Nissan, all the competing brands have been represented in the general classification podium ceremonies, though the Japanese marque can at least look back on three victories in the Gentlemen stakes.

Points hoarders: Championship leaders Ludwig and Asch have displayed commendable consistency, finishing in the Top Four every time and boosting their points tally to 146, a larger haul than any ‘half-time champions’ in previous seasons.

Variety: In the eight races so far, the lead has changed 19 times. All nine marques represented in the field have had a clear track ahead of them at some time during the first half of 2015.

Absolute fastest: The fastest driver in the ADAC GT Masters is Diego Alessi (43, ITA) who won the title back in 2013. His Callaway Competition Corvette was clocked at 272kph during qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, the highest speed ever recorded in the ADAC GT Masters.

Fastest lap: The new record holder for the fastest qualifying lap in the ADAC GT Masters is Bernd Schneider (50, GER). The HP Racing Mercedes-Benz driver set an average speed of 182kph at Spa-Francorchamps.

Old and young: As well as being the fastest contestant in the field, 50-year-old Schneider is also the oldest. The youngest entrant at 18 years of age is South Africa’s Jordan Lee Pepper who is a member of Christian Abt’s Audi team.

Best rookie: Klaus Bachler (23, AUT) in a GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 is not only the closest of the pursuing pack behind championship leaders Asch and Ludwig but also the most successful newcomer in the Super Sports Car League. At Oschersleben, he achieved the rare feat of scoring a maiden win while making an ADAC GT Masters debut.

Top debut: Bentley has become the first manufacturer in the history of the series to become a race winner on its ADAC GT Masters debut. At Oschersleben, the power coupé from England secured both pole positions and won the second race.

Lamborghini on a par with Corvette: Lamborghini celebrated a double victory at the Red Bull Ring. Two different models – the Gallardo R-EX and the Huracán GT3 – prevailed on their debut weekend and thereby notched up victories number 22 and 23 in the ADAC GT Masters for Lamborghini. This puts the Italian manufacturer on level pegging with Corvette as the two most successful brands of all time in the Super Sports Car League.

Most experienced: Championship leader Asch is also the longest-serving driver in the 2015 ADAC GT Masters line-up. So far, the 2012 champion has contested 99 races and is looking forward to his 100th at the Nürburgring.

Pure excitement: The closest finish was witnessed in the first race at Oschersleben. The Porsche 911 of Klaus Bachler and Christian Engelhart (28, GER) pipped the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Asch and Ludwig to the post by a slender margin of 0.6 seconds.

Keenly contested pole: Eight different pole-sitters have emerged from the eight qualifying sessions of 2015, i.e. no driver has managed to book the prime spot on the grid more than once. The most successful marque has been Mercedes-Benz, with three of its drivers having claimed pole. The honour of posting the fastest lap has also been spread around: eight different drivers in eight different supercars have gone fastest in the eight races.

Hot and cold: The difference in temperature between the races at Spa-Francorchamps and the Lausitzring was a massive 26 degrees. After a relatively cool 12°C at the Belgian F1 track, the thermometer soared to 38°C at the Lausitzring, making it the hottest weekend ever in the history of the Super Sports Car League.

Speedy gents: Corvette man Remo Lips (32, CH) has taken the most wins in the 2015 Gentlemen championship and currently leads the standings. The RWT Racing Team driver from Switzerland has stood on the top rung of the podium three times. Six of the Gentlemen entrants have picked up a class winner’s trophy in either a Corvette, a Nissan, a BMW or an Audi.

What’s in store for the second half of the season? The ADAC GT Masters opens the second half of the season on the weekend of 14th - 16th August on the Nürburgring sprint circuit. A fortnight later, it’s the turn of the Sachsenring (28th - 30th August). The penultimate race event of the season (unofficially referred to as the ‘semi-finals’) is to be held on the weekend of 18th - 20th September at Zandvoort in the Netherlands, followed by the ‘grand finale’ at Hockenheim (2nd to 4th October).