The Austrian racing driver Simon Reicher competed in the 2018 edition of the ADAC TCR Germany with high expectations for a top-ten finish. Last weekend, September 21 through 23, the final race of the season took place at the Hockenheimring, the popular German circuit that has also been hosting Formula 1 for decades. This was eighteen-year-old Reicher’s last opportunity to end the year with a bang. Did he manage to achieve his season goals? “I really like the Hockenheimring and have tested here several times. Unfortunately, this weekend’s results fall far below my expectations”, the Kirchberg-native comments.

The two free practice sessions on Friday quickly demonstrated what a massive challenge stood before Reicher. Positions thirteen and seven did establish hopes for a top-ten qualifying result, but sudden rainfalls took the youngster by surprise – track conditions that the sympathetic racer had not even seen during his first TCR year. Thus, the #54 Audi RS3 ranked in sixteenth position for the first starting grid.

“So far, we’ve managed to find the perfect set-up for each circuit all season long. Everything was looking good here, too. We were well equipped for a top-ten qualifying result. I was in sixth place when it started to rain. The radio connection was interrupted and I came into the pits two laps too late. I barely had my rain tires mounted, when red flags stopped the session. Very frustrating, but this was an unfortunate series of events beyond our control”, reports the ninth-grade student of the Felbertal High School.

Nonetheless, the YACO Racing pilot was hopeful starting from sixteenth position into the first race on Saturday. Simon Reicher explains what sadly caused him to retire from the race while in tenth position: “Suddenly, the steering wheel was crooked on the straights. I had massive toe-in on the front right tire – it was like a snow plow. The situation gradually worsened and I had to head to the pits.”

Overnight, the forces joined: Reicher’s own mechanics and engineers, as well as helpers from Audi and other teams took apart the entire front axle of the Audi RS3. No screw was left unexamined, yet no mistake could be found. So, Sunday’s question of the day remained, whether Saturday’s set-up failure would show up again. “I had a great start, avoided some collisions and was in good spirits for a good race. But then the same problem reappeared, though not quite as bad, allowing me to finish the race. Nonetheless, I could not even keep up with the tail end of the field. Coming in last is not a nice feeling”, Simon Reicher aired.

Despite all the setbacks Simon Reicher experienced throughout the year, he achieved his season goal with tenth place in the overall championship. As promised last weekend at the Sachsenring, he now presented us his season review after the final race of the year. “Unfortunately, I had no happy ending this season. This frustrates me quite a bit, as I was particularly looking forward to the Hockenheimring. Although I already competed in the ADAC TCR Germany last year, I was not able to take home the intended learning curve due to some internal obstacles. Therefore, my learning-year did not begin until 2018. Aside from the technical setbacks, I am satisfied with my personal performance. I had to catch up a bit, since most of my competitors gained valuable experiences last season. Whenever we had no technical defects, we were among the fastest. In fact, my number 54 was to be found at the very top of the timing charts rather frequently, which I find fantastic. We always proved to be candidates for frontrunner positions. However, too many technical errors and difficulties cost us valuable ground, which you can’t afford losing in such a competitive series. Nevertheless, I learned a great deal. What a shame the season is already over – I wish I were in a time warp. But even the Rolling Stones sang ‘You can’t always get what you want’. Now, I am moving forward and looking into the future, which in fact starts in two weeks. We are exploring all possibilities, will complete some more testing this year, and then go into 2019 well prepared”, explains the young man, as he departs with his eyes already set on the coming season.