Simon Reicher knows the Zandvoort Circuit like no other track. This is where the 17-year-old Austrian had his first rollout in the Audi RS3 LMS Ultra, has completed the majority of his training days, and driven most of his touring car races so far. Nevertheless, the level of excitement for next week’s race is high. Reicher and his Certainty Racing Team, led by Dillon Koster, have already been feverish for days. The ADAC TCR Germany will take place at the 4.307 meter-long Zandvoort Circuit,  situated among the Dutch dunes by the North Sea.

„This is by far our most important event of the year – it’s our home race! Many friends, supporters, and motorsport enthusiasts will be cheering us on all weekend,“ explains Dillon Koster. The 40-year-old grew up in Haarlem and has spent his entire life in the region, adding that „Certainty Racing Team is based in Zandvoort. In fact, that makes this more than just a home race. But even though we know every centimeter of the course, the expectations are high and we have a lot of work in front of us.“ The sympathetic Dutchman, who is both team principal and also the second driver, faces this task together with his youngster Simon Reicher.

„This will be an extremely important weekend for me personally,“ reports Reicher, who experienced the darkest day of his motorsport career after a poor performance last weekend in Oschersleben. We remember, Reicher, his engineers and mechanics simply didn’t manage a good setup of the Audi R3 LMS Ultra. „We tried so many things, but to no avail. By the time we found the mistake in our setup, the weekend was already over,“ he analyzes the prior weekend. That makes Simon all the more motivated to quickly find back to old strengths. It will be crucial to achieve the best-possible car balance for the new asphalt. Due to the track’s proximity to the ocean, the seventh grader of the Felbertal High School must also be aware of quick changes in weather as well as strong winds blowing sand across the track. Should Simon Reicher and his 43 competitors from 12 different nations be spared weather chaos, Certainty Racing Team could have a strong weekend. But enough of the conjunctive – it remains exciting to see how the Youngster fights back in the championship.

„I’m quite relaxed about the coming weekend and won’t drive myself crazy with high expectations and pressure. I know we can be fast in Zandvoort. After all, I placed third here, together with my role model Jaap van Lagen, in the TCR Benelux earlier this year. I will be fully focused to drive a perfect lap in the qualification – from there, we will see what the races have in store,“ the Austrian said visibly laid-back.
The ADAC TCR Germany races will take place in the supporting program of the ADAC GT Masters July 21-23, 2017. The event will be broadcast on Sport1 TV and streamed on sport1.de.