Showdown at the Nürburgring: 13 drivers battle it out for the German GT Championship

• Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Lamborghini drivers with title aspirations
• Close affair: Slender four-point lead for Feller/Mies
• Can third-placed Michael Ammermüller be the first driver to successfully defend his title?

Munich. Who will German GT Champion in 2021? It doesn’t get any more tense than the title decider at the Nürburgring from 5th to 7th November. The leaders take an advantage of just four points into the final round, while a total of 13 drivers still have hopes of winning the title with Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Lamborghini. Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport), who tops the table alongside Ricardo Feller (21/CH) in an Audi R8 LMS, is in prime position to add a second title to the one he won in 2016. Meanwhile, his closest rivals could achieve a first in the series: Luca Stolz (26/Brachbach) and Maro Engel (36/Monte Carlo, both Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT) trail the championship leaders by just four points and could become the first duo to win the title without actually winning a race, while Porsche driver Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster, SSR Performance) is striving to be the first person to successfully defend the title. Tickets for the finale are available online at adac.de/motorsport. Prices start at € 22.50 for ADAC members (€ 25 for non-members), while admission is free for children aged 12 and under. NITRO will broadcast both races live on free-to-air TV from 15:00 on Saturday and Sunday. They can also be watched in a free livestream on motorsport.tv and at adac.de/motorsport.

Ricardo Feller (21/CH) and Christopher Mies (32/Düsseldorf, both Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS), 165 points
The two-time race winners, who topped the table at the halfway point of the season, travel to the finale as championship leaders – although their advantage has evaporated to just four points. Youngster Feller, who leads the Pirelli Junior competition and is the discovery of the season, and Audi works driver Mies, the 2016 ADAC GT Masters champion, have impressed with their speed and consistency. Mies, who has a wealth of Nürburgring experience, is counting on the weather at the final weekend. “The Nürburgring is not necessarily our best circuit – I think Porsche and Mercedes-AMG are the favourites there. I may have won the ADAC GT Masters once, but that does not give us an advantage. The standard of driving in the ADAC GT Masters is high. Virtually all the title contenders have won a championship somewhere. Everyone knows what it takes.”

“Our chances are good,” says Feller. “However, we cannot afford to make any mistakes. The goal is to score as many points as possible – and ideally to finish ahead of our rivals.”

Luca Stolz (26/Brachbach) and Maro Engel (36/Monte Carlo, both Mercedes-AMG Team Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo), 161 points
Mercedes-AMG works drivers Luca Stolz and Maro Engel are consistency personified: Six podium finishes have taken the Toksport WRT duo to second place in the table. Like last year, the successful pairing has a great chance of winning the title at the finale – even if they are yet to record a win. “After all the bad luck at the start of the season, we were not expecting to still be challenging for the title. However, we have fought back superbly,” says Engel. “It is in our own hands. If we finish ahead of the Land Audi twice, and on the podium if possible, then we have a very good chance. Anything is definitely possible. The Nürburgring is our team’s home circuit, so we will have extra support there. The track ought to suit us. We finished runner-up there in 2020. We want to back up that result now. To claim our first win of the season at the Nürburgring would obviously be the best outcome.”

Mathieu Jaminet (27/F) and Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster, both SSR Performance, Porsche 911 GT3 R), 148 points
To win the ADAC GT Masters title with Porsche – Mathieu Jaminet (27/F) and Michael Ammermüller know what it takes: the Frenchman in 2018, his team-mate from Lower Bavaria last year. Ammermüller is excellently placed to become the first driver in the history of the series to successfully defend the title. With three wins to his name this season, he trails the championship leaders by 17 points. “A 17-point deficit is nothing in the ADAC GT Masters,” says Porsche works driver Jaminet confidently. “It looks like a lot on paper, but so much happens all the time in these races. A perfect Saturday and you are right back in it. As such, I would put our chances at 50:50.” Ammermüller turned the title race in his favour in 2020, when he arrived at the final round third in the table last November. “It is all very close. There are no clear favourites. Right from the outset, the goal was to defend the title. That would be very special for the team and me. We will give it our all.”

A further seven drivers in the battle for the championship
It would be unwise to write off the rest of the chasing pack: Raffaele Marciello (26/I) and Maximilian Buhk (28/Hamburg, both Mann-Filter Team Landgraf – HTP/WWR, 139 points) dropped points recently in their Mercedes-AMG, but have repeatedly underlined their ambitions as one of the strongest teams in the championship since the start of the season. Lamborghini works driver Mirko Bortolotti (31/I) has eight points fewer to his name. The Italian from the GRT Grasser Racing Team lines up alongside fellow works driver Marco Mapelli (34/I) at the finale and knows from the past that his Huracán GT3 is capable of winning in the Eifel mountains. Still in with an outside chance is 2017 champion, Mercedes-AMG works driver Jules Gounon (26/F). He has made an impressive return to the ADAC GT Masters this year, with two victories alongside team-mate Igor Waliłko (24/PL, both Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing). Trailing the leaders by 55 points, Lamborghini drivers Rolf Ineichen (42/CH) and Franck Perera (37/F, both GRT Grasser Racing Team) probably only have a mathematical chance of winning the title. However, Gottfried Grasser’s outfit is the only team still with two cars in the title race.

ADAC GT Masters 2021 calendar, subject to change

14.05. – 16.05.2021	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
11.06. – 13.06.2021	Red Bull Ring (A)
09.07. – 11.07.2021	CM.com Circuit Zandvoort (NL)
10.09. – 12.09.2021	DEKRA Lausitzring
01.10. – 03.10.2021	Sachsenring
22.10. – 24.10.2021	Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg
05.11. – 07.11.2021	Nürburgring