Simon Reicher before Dubai: „My first 24 Hour Race – pinch me, please“

The new year starts with an absolute highlight for Simon Reicher. For the first time in his live the Austrian will participate in a 24 Hour Race. And it gets even better: The event takes places in no other City than Dubai from January 10 to January 12.  Simon can’t wait: „Of course, it is special to drive in Dubai. I guess everyone knows Dubai and what an impressive city it is. It is going to be a huge step in my motorsports career. At the same time it is a start mark for the upcoming season in the Creventic Endurance Race Championship and for the GT Masters as well.“

With the 24 Hour Race Simon wants to gain experience in the new GT-3 car for the GT Masters. Due to the fact that in 2019 the GT Masters will be the main series for Simon and he will share a car with his teammate from T3 Motorsport Maximilian Paul. Furthermore, the 18-year-old reveals other goals for Dubai: „We are part of the amateur ranking with our car in Dubai. My goals is to drive close to the podium in our racing class and to manage to be part of the Top 10 in the overall ranking. That would be an incredible result.“

Last season he was lucky enough to drive with a GT-3 Car twice. One time he drove a Honda as a test driver in Oschersleben and the other time was his first race in an Audi R8 LMS with 585 PS at Hockenheimring during the DMV final race in autumn 2018. The young Kirchberger who is also a student in 9th grade at the Private Secondary School Felbertal finished both races on the podium. 

In Dubai he shares an Audi R8 LMS from his team Car Collection for 24 hours with the two Germans Murad Sultanov and Klaus Koch and the Australian Martin Berry – a new experience for Simon: „It definitely makes a difference if you drive for an hour or 24. There are Boxstopps at 24 Hour Races and you have to drive during the night. Plus you drive a lot more. That requires a different focus and your level of fitness plays an important role as well.“ For that reason, Simon worked out every single day for the last couple of weeks and feels prepared in the best possible way: „My fitness level has never been better.“

One thing the Kirchberger is especially looking forward to is the atmosphere in Dubai: „I am sure it is going to be spectacular and a cool racing experience. I don’t have any particular expectations because I believe that could ruin the real experience. I just chill and see what happens and I cannot wait for it to finally start.  On a scale from 1 to 10 my anticipation for the race is a 15.“ It is astonishing how laid-back the youngster presents himself before his first 24 Hour Race. There is simply no sign of nervousness at the moment but right before the race that is about to change. „When the race starts and I should start from the beginning my level of nervousness will rise and that is just normal. Otherwise you would be at the wrong place“, Simon explains. 

For those who want to watch the 24 Hour spectacle at home the YouTube Channel of Hankook 24H Dubai 2019 offers livestreams. Starting on Thursday (January 10) at 1.15pm (MEZ) with the qualifying. The actual 24 Hour Race of Dubai 2019 starts on Friday (January 11) with a preliminary report at 10.45am (MEZ).