Title showdown at ADAC GT Masters finale in Hockenheim

• Eleven drivers with title chances in final two races
• Corvette, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and BMW fighting for title
• Team championship and Gentlemen title still undecided in run-up to finale

The ADAC GT Masters is girding its loins for the title showdown at the Hockenheimring this
weekend (September 27th to 29th). The most exciting title fight ever in the history of the series
is about to reach a climax with the final two Super Sports Car League races. Eleven drivers, led
by current championship leaders Diego Alessi (41, Austria) and Daniel Keilwitz (24, Germany /
Callaway Competition) in a Corvette, all have a chance of securing the title in these two final
races. Apart from the Corvette duo at the top of the table, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and
Audi drivers will be pitching for the title. Whilst the winners in the drivers’ championship will
ultimately be decided at the Motodrom in southern Germany during Saturday’s and Sunday’s
races (both races live on kabel eins TV, beginning at 12:00 pm), the battle for honours in the
team standings and in the Gentlemen class will both be resolved in a to-the-wire finish.

Second shot at title for championship leaders Alessi/Keilwitz

In the run-up to the finale, Alessi and Keilwitz are in the same position that they were in twelve
months ago. Last year, the Corvette drivers led the standings ahead of the finale but had to
settle for the runners-up title. Keilwitz: “Of course, I hope things go much better for us in this
year’s finale. Our current position is good, plus Hockenheim is the home track for our team,
Callaway Competition, so we know it very well. Our opponents will be very tough, though, for
sure. If we can wrap up the title on Saturday, well, that would be a dream result. But being
realistic, it will all probably hinge on Sunday’s race.”

Mercedes-Benz and Porsche share second place in Standings

The Corvette duo’s closest rivals, each pairing placed second in the rankings with a 14-point
deficit, are: Robert Renauer (28, Germany / Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport), who
shares a Porsche with Martin Ragginger (25, Austria), and defending champion Maximilian Götz
(28 , Germany / Polarweiss Racing) together with Maximilian Buhk (20, Germany) in the
Mercedes-Benz. Buhk has already secured one title ahead of the ADAC GT Masters finale at the
weekend; the youngest driver in the ADAC GT Masters won the Blancpain Endurance Series at
the Nürburgring. He now has a chance of lifting his second title in seven days at Hockenheim.
Götz, on the other hand, could become the first driver ever in the history of the ADAC GT Masters
to successfully defend his title. Götz: “I know what it’s like to win the championship and I would
like to experience the same emotions once again this year. Our Mercedes-Benz is very fast at
Hockenheim, as we proved last year. But the situation at the top of the standings is indeed very
exciting and anything can happen in the finale, you know.”

Audi and BMW teams face tough task at Hockenheim

Winners of two races this season in the BMW Z4 Claudia Hürtgen (42, Germany / PIXUM Team
Schubert) and Dominik Baumann (20, Austria) may have an uphill struggle but their situation is
not completely hopeless. The rapid mixed doubles duo has a deficit of 25 points, but 50 points
are still on the table for the winners at Hockenheim. Baumann is in a feisty mood: “We will go
for the maximum at the finale. I hope we have two wonderful races and are in with a good
chance of lifting the title. Racing is always very close at Hockenheim. Every driver and every
team knows the track extremely well, since more testing is carried out there than anywhere
else.”

With a 33-point deficit, Christopher Mies (24, Germany) / René Rast (26, Germany / Prosperia C
Abt Racing) in the Audi R8 also have a mathematical chance of taking the title, whilst Simon
Knap (24, Netherlands) / Jeroen den Boer (26, Netherlands / DB Motorsport) are 43 points adrift
in the BMW Z4.

For Mies and Rast, it is not just about the drivers’ title at Hockenheim, winning the team title is
just as important. In the team standings, Prosperia C Abt Racing led by former ADAC GT Masters
champion and DTM driver Christian Abt have a nine-point lead on Callaway Competition.

Nielsen and Bourdeaux separated by one single Point

The battle at Hockenheim in the Gentlemen class is even hotter than the fight for the drivers’
and team titles. Christina Nielsen (21, Denmark / Farnbacher Racing) in a Porsche 911 travels
to the Hockenheim finale with a minimal lead of just one point on title rival and fellow Porsche
driver René Bourdeaux (38, Germany / Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport). Third-placed
Remo Lips (31, Switzerland / Callaway Competition), who will be lining up in a Corvette aided by
ADAC Sports foundation protégé Lennart Marioneck (24, Germany / Callaway Competition) also
has a chance on paper of securing the title in the Gentlemen class.

Nissan and Corvette teams guest at finale

The ADAC GT Masters will welcome some important guests from England to this final race
weekend. JRM Racing, who won the FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan in 2011 and are
Nissan Motorsport (NISMO) partners in the development of the GT-R, will field two of the
Japanese supercars in Hockenheim. Taking the wheel of the GT-Rs will be former DTM race
winner Peter Dumbreck (39, Great Britain) and Matt Bell (23, Great Britain), plus Steven Kane
(33, Great Britain) / Humaid Al Masaood (30, United Arab Emirates). To mark the end of the
season, Gerd Beisel (55, Germany / RWT Racing) and Sven Barth (32, Germany) fielding a
Corvette will once again be in the hunt for a podium finish in the Gentlemen category.