He comes from the Alpine region – he is accustomed to mountains, especially those towering left and right over his native roads. However, one may currently have the impression that several boulders have fallen, blocking Simon Reicher’s path. The young Austrian will not give up, though, until he has cleared his route back to success in the ADAC TCR Germany. The next event takes place this weekend, September 22-24, on the Hockenheim Ring, where Reicher will give his very best to fight his way to the front of the pack.
Another great challenge awaits the rookie, as he has had no realistic testing opportunities to prepare himself and his car for the circuit. The youngster faced a similar situation recently, jumping into cold waters at the Nürburgring. “When you are just getting to know a new track, finding the ideal braking and steering points, and simultaneously have to work out the car’s set-up, it can be quite a challenge for a rookie. Of course we prepare for the races as best we can, but there are several parameters that can first be tested on-site: adjusting shock absorbers, toe and camber settings, as well as the downforce – without additional support from a racing engineer, this set-up management requires more than the available two practice sessions for a competitive car”, explains the 17-year-old. The list of work awaiting Reicher and his team at Hockenheim Ring is not exactly of the short kind. “I know the track from my time in the Renault Clio Cup Series, but that’s simply incomparable to my current car. Therefore, we have made some small changes in the team: my mentor and trainer Jaap van Lagen will be driving the second car from Certainty Racing and we hope this will boost my progress and results this weekend”, Reicher sums up. “I’m really looking forward to racing at Hockenheim Ring, a very special track – that feeling as you exit the parabolica, race down the straightaway, and hit the breaks into the 180-degree turn, as your body presses into the seatbelt – wow! Or later on, as you drive through the Motordrome corner, thousands of eyes following your every move –that’s just awesome”, shines Simon Reicher, as he gets us into the real racing spirit. “No matter how challenging the coming weekend will be, I am and will stay a racing driver. This is my dream and I am confident that hard work will bring us back to the front. Hopefully this time around we will have found the perfect set-up by the time the qualifying begins. I am geared for full attack and will concentrate myself fully on clean driving. New race, new luck! Any boulders that lie in my way will simply be pushed aside”, smiles Reicher.