Second half of ADAC GT Masters campaign gets underway at Nürburgring

• The ADAC GT Masters returns from its summer break for the decisive phase
• Home race for championship leader Ludwig and Zakspeed; 100th start for Asch
• Bernd Schneider back in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Munich. The ADAC GT Masters is about to return from its summer break. The Super Sports Car League enters the second half of the season at the Nürburgring on the weekend of 14th - 16th August. Taking centre stage in the two races on the Eifel circuit will be championship leaders Luca Ludwig (26, GER) from Bonn and Sebastian Asch (29, GER) from Ammerbuch, their Zakspeed team and their car, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. For Ludwig and his Zakspeed outfit from nearby Niederzissen, the race around the sprint track of the Nürburgring is a home fixture. Asch also has cause for celebration, having competed in more ADAC GT Masters races than anyone else in the current crop of drivers and looking forward to his 100th start. For second-placed Klaus Bachler (24, AUT) and GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport co-driver Martin Ragginger (27, AUT), the Nürburgring will be all about closing the gap on the championship leaders. "The weekend at the Nürburgring could be decisive in the destination of the title," says the Porsche man. SPORT1 will be showing both races from the Nürburgring on Saturday and Sunday live, starting at 1pm CEST.

Sprint track at the Nürburgring always good for exciting races

The two races on the sprint circuit at the Nürburgring promise plenty of action. There is probably no other track on the calendar where the fans get to see the cars quite so often as on the 3.6km Nürburgring variant. Despite the comfortable lead in the championship, local favourite Ludwig intends to go on the attack in his home race: "After the Nürburgring, we'll be racing on tracks which we expect to be more difficult for us. Consequently, we need to make this a good points-scoring weekend. Last year at the Nürburgring was the beginning of our success story which has continued to the present and will hopefully be carrying on." Asch is also feeling upbeat: "In recent years, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has always been very competitive at the Nürburgring. There is no reason why we shouldn't be contenders for the race win this time too."

Porsche driver Bachler is hot on the heels of the Mercedes duo, but the Austrian himself has two fast pursuers breathing down his neck. Third-placed Dominik Baumann (22, AUT) and Jens Klingmann (25, GER) in a BMW Z4 entered by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert have two wins to their credit this season and are rated highly by the leaders. "I see Baumann and Klingmann as our toughest opponents in the second half of the season," predicts Ludwig.

Bentley and Corvette aiming to keep title hopes alive

The two races in the Eifel will be indicative of whether the pairings of Andreas Wirth (30, GER) and Daniel Keilwitz (26, GER) in their Callaway Competition Corvette or local favourite Luca Stolz (20, GER) and Jeroen Bleekemolen (33, NL) in their HTP Bentley Continental can maintain their title challenge. Wirth and Keilwitz, who picked up more winners' trophies than anyone else last year, are still without an outright victory this season. However, the signs are good for the Eifel: the Corvette is the most successful supercar at the Nürburgring, having clocked up five wins there over the years. In the 2014 equivalent fixture at the Nürburgring, the US sports cars recorded a double victory. Meanwhile, Stolz and Bleekemolen will be looking to notch up a third podium finish in the 2015 ADAC GT Masters.

Edward Sandström (36, SWE) returns to the Nürburgring with fond memories, having won the ADAC Zurich 24-hour race there in May. Next weekend, the Swedish driver will be reunited with his winning Audi R8 which goes on display in the paddock at the Nürburgring. Back in the ADAC GT Masters, Sandström links up again with Daniel Dobitsch (31, AUT) behind the wheel of a kfzteile24 MS RACING Audi R8.

Record DTM championship winner Bernd Schneider (51, Bottighofen/CH) put on a superb display of racing in June at Spa-Francorchamps, claiming pole position on his debut. For the Nürburgring weekend, he is back together with Hari Proczyk (39, AUT) in an HP Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

Lips to defend lead in Gentlemen class

Corvette driver Remo Lips (32, CH/RWT Racing Team) will have thoroughly enjoyed his summer break from the ADAC GT Masters: at half-time, the Swiss amateur racer tops the Gentlemen standings. But at the Nürburgring, he will find himself back under pressure from the pursuing pack led by Dominic Jöst (36, GER) and Florian Scholze (42, GER) who share the cockpit of an MRS GT-Racing Nissan GT-R. Marc Gassner (24, GER/MRS GT-Racing) will be hoping to bring an end to his losing streak: the race in the Eifel is a home fixture for the Nissan driver from the Lower Rhine area. As winner of last year's Nissan GT Academy driver casting, Gassner is targeting the podium after a sequence of unsuccessful outings.

Nürburgring a challenge for tyres supplied by exclusive partner Pirelli

According to Anna Playford, Pirelli Trackside Engineer, the Nürburgring makes considerable demands on the tyres supplied by exclusive partner Pirelli: "The track is highly varied in terms of speed and cornering radius; it has some hard braking zones, and the kerbs put the tyres under considerable stress. Add to that the unpredictable Eifel weather. Recent races have shown, however, that our tyres can stand up to all temperatures and conditions. These range from the 11°C we experienced in the tests at Oschersleben to the 36°C at the Lausitzring."

Full programme for fans: eleven races, autograph session and pit walk

There will be plenty of on-track action during the ADAC GT Masters at the Nürburgring on Saturday and Sunday, with no fewer than eleven races to watch. The support series include the ADAC Formula 4, the GT4 European Series making its second appearance, and two more touring car formats in the shape of the DTC des DMSB/ADAC Procar and the Renault Clio Cup Central Europe. Fans need to make a special note in their diaries of three events over the weekend: on Saturday and Sunday there will be the pit walk commencing at 11.05am - a great opportunity to see the supercars close up; and at the 'Meet the Drivers' autograph session at 3pm in front of the ADAC Hospitality in the paddock, the most successful drivers from Saturday's race will be signing autographs and talking about cars.