Mercedes-Benz duo Asch and Götz claim race win and title in ADAC GT Masters

• Championship thriller: Outcome uncertain right up to home straight
• kfzteile24 MS RACING also wrap up team title
• Win for Kristian Poulsen in amateur classification

A tempestuous finale to the 2012 ADAC GT Masters in bright sunshine at the Hockenheimring, with wheel-to-wheel clashes and an enthralling duel for the championship title in the closing stage of the race: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG duo Sebastian Asch (26, Ammerbuch) and Maximilian Götz (26, Uffenheim / kfzteile24 MS RACING Team) put in a controlled and masterful performance in front of 20,700 fans to claim their first win of the season and at the same time clinch the title. In a dramatic last few laps, Dominik Baumann (19, Austria) and Harald Proczyk (36, Austria / HEICO Motorsport) made it a Mercedes-Benz one-two on the podium. Robert Renauer (27, Munich) and Nicolas Armindo (30, France / FROGREEN CO2 neutral) in a Porsche 911 completed the Top Three. “Those last fifteen minutes in the car were the most difficult I have experienced in my entire motor racing career,” said a breathless Sebastian Asch after his title-winning stint. Because of unresolved protests, the race result remains provisional. But whatever the stewards decide, this cannot affect the award of the drivers’ and team trophies.

Key facts, Hockenheimring, Race 2

Length of track: 4,574 metres
Weather: 20ºC, sunny
Pole Position for Race 2: Martin Ragginger (FACH AUTO TECH-Porsche 911) 01:39.650 mins
Winners of Race 2: Sebastian Asch and Maximilian Götz (kfzteile24 MS RACING Team-Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3)
Fastest race lap: Martin Ragginger (FACH AUTO TECH-Porsche 911) 01:40.576 mins

Martin Ragginger leads in first stint

Porsche 911 driver Martin Ragginger (24, Austria / FACH AUTO TECH) used his pole position to maximum effect, holding off the challenge from Götz in the Mercedes-Benz to retain the lead. The positions remained the same until the mandatory pit stop. After the changeover, the Mercedes-Benz driven by Asch put pressure on the leading Porsche which now had amateur champion Swen Dolenc (44, Maulbronn) at the wheel. Asch eventually managed to take the lead on the 23rd lap of 35. He looked to be on the way to securing the championship but could afford to take nothing for granted. Because behind him, Christian Engelhart (25, Kösching / Team Geyer & Weinig EDV – Schütz Motorsport) in his Porsche 911 and Diego Alessi (40, Italy / Callaway Competition) in his Corvette – both in with a chance of grabbing the title themselves – were making steady progress through the field, chasing the points that could decide the outcome in their favour after all.

After an impressive charge up the field, for which co-driver Sean Edwards (25, GB) also takes some of the credit, Engelhart’s fate was finally sealed near the end of the race in a scrap with Dolenc for second place. Engelhart prevailed over the other Porsche driver in a battle that had gone on for several laps, but the eventual overtaking manoeuvre involved a degree of contact. The stewards adjudged Engelhart at fault and handed out a drive-through penalty, which effectively ended his title challenge. But Asch and Götz still didn’t have the championship in their pocket, because Alessi was advancing menacingly through the running order. Even if Asch and Götz won, the Corvette pairing of Alessi and Daniel Keilwitz (23, Villingen) needed only second place to secure the title for themselves. But in the end, a scrap with Dolenc put paid to Alessi’s chances. Dolenc was spun round and had to retire, which resulted in a drive-through penalty for Alessi. This opened the way to the win and the title. “It was extremely tense at the start; I couldn’t bear to watch it on the screen,” said Asch after the race. “The last 15 minutes were extremely hard and I was just hoping that everything would keep working till I crossed the finish line.”

“We kept the best till last and managed to get our first win through our own endeavours,” said a jubilant Maximilian Götz. “Once we got ourselves into the lead, we had our fate in our own hands. I can’t quite believe that we actually won the title. It will take a while for that to sink in.”

The dramatic events of the race and the penalties for Engelhart and Alessi also worked to the advantage of Dominik Baumann and Harald Proczyk who finished in second place – their best result of the season – as well as for third-placed Renauer and Armindo. Saturday’s race winners Claudia Hürtgen (41, Aachen) and Dominik Schwager (36, Munich / Schubert Motorsport) came fourth in their BMW Z4. Lance David Arnold (26, Duisburg) and Alexandros Margaritis (28, Cologne / SCHÖNER WOHNEN Polarweiss Team HEICO) finished fifth in yet another Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG after starting from 20th position on the grid.

The penalties for Engelhart/Edwards and Alessi/Keilwitz demoted them to sixth and tenth respectively. The Mercedes Benz pair of Maximilian Buhk (19, Dassendorf) and Andreas Simonsen (22, Sweden / HEICO Motorsport) were ranked seventh despite being given a drive-through penalty for cutting short the mandatory pit-stop. Eighth were the Dutch partnership of Simon Knap (23) and Jeroen den Boer (25 / DB Motorsport) in a BMW Z4. René Rast (25, Frankfurt) and Christian Mamerow (27, Waltrop / Mamerow Racing) finished the closing race of the 2012 ADAC GT Masters season in ninth.

Mercedes-Benz specialists win team title

The win for Asch and Götz at Hockenheim not only secured them the drivers’ championship but also scored the necessary points for kfzteile24 MS RACING to finish the season top of the table in the team championship. Runners-up in this classification were Corvette specialists Callaway Competition.

Last amateur victory of 2012 goes to Kristian Poulsen

Newly crowned amateur champion Swen Dolenc had to retire from the race after being involved in a collision with Alessi. This left the way clear for Kristian Poulsen (36, Denmark, Young Driver AMR) to claim the final winner’s trophy of 2012 in the amateur stakes and at the same time finish the season as runner-up in this competition. Corvette driver Toni Seiler (54, Switzerland / Callaway Competition) and René Bourdeaux (37, Munich / Team GT3 Kasko) in a Porsche 911 completed the podium party for the last such photo opportunity of the year.