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Title contenders aiming to be the 'Ring masters in round eight

For the championship challengers for both driver and team honours, the German round will have a major impact on the destiny of the 2012 trophies.

The fact that the Nürburgring be the home race for two of the main protagonists provides added spice.

The German circuit presents many challenges for drivers with its mix of high and low speed corners including the fast NGK chicane which will be used for the GT1 round. The region's fickle weather also has a habit of throwing up surprises for engineers seeking an ideal set-up.

It will be the second visit to the Nürburgring for the FIA GT1 World Championship, the German circuit having staged the sixth round of the inaugural season in2010.

This season's drivers' battle is tight with the Vita4One Racing BMW pair of Michael Bartels (DEU) and Yelmer Buurman (NLD) on 127 points leading the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport Mercedes German duo Marc Basseng and Markus Winkelhock by just six points.

At the previous round in Russia, Basseng and Winkelhock gained valuable ground while the BMWs were beset by mechanical and tyre issues and the points' leaders came away with just six points from the weekend.

Hexis McLaren's Stef Dusseldorp (NLD) and Fred Makowiecki (FRA) emerged as title contenders with victory in the Championship Race at Moscow Raceway. They stand in third on 110 points.

All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport lead the teams' standings with 207 points from Vita4One Racing on 173 and Belgian Audi Club Team WRT on 165.

Basseng, the All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport team manager and co-driver of the No.38 Mercedes with Winkelhock is relishing the return to Nurburgring, the scene of notable successes for the pair.

"This track is really special for Markus and me. We had our biggest success at Nurburgring this year when we won the 24 Hour Race here," he said.

"The GP circuit which is longer is a really nice track, the part through the Dunlop Curve is close to be flat out to the uphill section (Schumacher Curves) is really nice. It is a real race track which is quick and long.

As for the championship, Basseng said: "We need again to score more points than BMW and we have to watch how the Hexis Racing crew is doing as well.

"The weather will be interesting as I'm sure we will have rain and dry conditions so we need to be prepared for everything but we have a really highly-motivated team at present."  

Winkelhock, who famously led a Formula One Grand Prix at Nurburgring in 2007 for Spyker F1, says that a "good aerodynamic balance and top speed" will be important during the weekend.

Nicky Pastorelli (NLD), who shares the No.37 All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport car with Germany's Thomas Jäger believes the Mercedes will be suited to the track.

"On paper the track should suit us pretty well, so good results should be possible," he said.

"We are currently leading the team championship and it would be nice to extend our lead. Also my team-mates still have a good chance to win the drivers' championship and myself and Thomas still have a good chance to finish the championship in a good position too."

Buurman, who has won twice at Nürburgring in Superleague Formula, clearly has a liking for the track. He and Bartels are aiming to bounce back in Germany.

"The Nürburgring is a track I always liked a lot. It has actually almost all sorts of corners. Some hard braking zones, slow corners, medium corners and real fast corners. It's always a big challenge," he said.

"Our aim to stay ahead in the championship by hopefully scoring a podium or two."

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are intent on securing third place in the teams' championship, according to young Belgian Laurens Vanthoor who partners Stephane Ortelli (MON) in the No.32 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The pair recorded two third-place finishes in Russia while their team-mates Oliver Jarvis (GBR) and Frank Stippler (DEU) took victory in the Qualifying Race to assist the team's cause.

Vanthoor, fresh from victory in the Zolder 24 Hour Race, has a solid single-seater record at Nürburgring. "In 2009, when I won the German F3 Championship on this track, is a moment I'll never forget," he said.

"Our ambition is to get the third place in the championship. That is still possible and would be a very nice result for Audi WRT in their first year in the FIA GT1 World Championship. If we can continue the trend from Slovakia and Moscow then everything is possible.

"Nürburgring is a very nice track to drive. A lot of natural height difference which makes it more exciting for the driver and car set-up.

"It has a lot of fast corners, slow corners, hairpins and chicanes. It's one of the tracks I like most on the calendar."

The German round also sees the return of the Reiter Engineering Lamborghinis which were unable to make the grid in Russia.

The team also features a new driver pairing in the No.24 car of Jeroen Bleekemolen (NLD) and Mike Parisy (FRA).

Bleekemolen holds the record as the youngest-ever FIA GT overall race winner while Parisy won earlier in the season in the Exim Bank Team China Porsche.

India's Armaan Ebrahim, who drove alongside Benjamin Lariche in the Sunred Ford GT in Russia, partners the Frenchman again in Germany.

Meanwhile, the SRO Motorsports Group has confirmed that the final round of the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship will take place at Donington Park in England.

The British finale replaces the Indian round which was due to take place from 30 November to 1 December.

The final round at Donington Park will take place on the 29-30 September - the same weekend as the Avon Tyres British GT and Cooper Tires British F3 International Series.