19-year-old Simon Reicher will earn his first spurs on the legendary Nordschleife this weekend (October 10-11). As he describes: “Only once you’ve driven on the Nordschleife, can you call yourself a real racing driver!”

Work hard play hard – before the fun begins, the Kirchberg-native must first attend some school lessons. Driving the 20,832-meter-long Nordschleife requires a special license, the so-called Nordschleife Permit. “I don’t have great expectations regarding the schooling process. I imagine it’s similar to driving school, where you are told what you can and what you can’t do. And in the end, someone checks if you’ve understood or not. If you have, you receive the Permit, else not”, Simon Reicher describes his upcoming driving lessons.

The youngster will be putting theory to practice during the eighth VLN endurance event (51^st ADAC Barbarossa Prize), a four-hour race. Reicher awaits a highly complex circuit with an ambitious layout, treacherous corners, banked curves, few to no run-off strips as well as frequently changing asphalt surfaces. A challenging task for the youngster. “I’m really looking forward to the VLN race, something I’ve been excited about for weeks now. What will happen? How will I familiarize with the Green Hell? Everything will be different for me and anything is possible on the Nordschleife. I hope it stays dry and I don’t face rainy conditions during my premiere. I imagine wet weather on the Nordschleife somewhat trickier than on regular racing circuits. The Nordschleife is the next big step in my motorsports career”, reports the determined Austrian.

Just a week later, Simon Reicher and his YACO Racing Team travel on to the season finale of the DMV-GTC at Hockenheimring. What expects him there? “I entered the championship very late. After having my issues with Zolder, my last chances for the title dissolved. That said, I can approach Hockenheimring relaxed and just hope for a successful end to the year with my team.”