Simon Reicher currently has an excitingly packed racing schedule. Having just finished his half-time race a few days ago on the Dutch Coast, he’s racing again this coming weekend in the German Eifel region. The Sprint-Course of the Nürburgring will host the ADAC TCR Germany in the supporting program of the ADAC GT Masters. The native-Kirchberger, who has rather chaotic memories of the past race, plans to make some changes for the remainder of the season. “Apart from the fact that the ADAC TCR Germany is a highly competitive series, I strive to improve my driving and, most importantly, avoid making small mistakes as we have been doing this first half of the year. In general, we need to start the race weekend even more disciplined and focused than ever before. At the beginning of the season I was still very busy with my personal driving performance, not noticing that we were making some wrong decisions here and there. Certainly this is due to my lack of experience”, the youngster critically analyzed. Nonetheless, the seventh grader’s overall performance is very positive so far. After all, he is a rookie and in his learning year.

Learning year or not, the Reicher family did set a high “Top 15” target, though the extremely competitive level of racing in the ADAC TCR Germany is not be underestimated: several professionals and “oldies”, and no less than 40 participants from eleven nations are in the starter field. The more important aspect to consider is Simon’s learning curve throughout the season, which grows steeper and steeper from race to race. His team principal Dillon Koster comments as follows: “Simon is very young and understands complexities quickly, but there is one drawback to his age. He is impatient. He’d like to win everything right away – that’s fully understandable, he’s a real racer! But it’s not that easy. Now that we have intensely focused on his driving skills, the race tracks, and the car, it’s time to tackle the next challenge. If we manage to get Simon through the weekend without errors, from qualification to the last checkered flag, he has the stuff to race at the front of the pack. I am confident about that!” Dillon Koster was hinting at last weekend’s qualification in Zandvoort. Reicher had four laps for a fast time, but was hindered by unlucky circumstances: two red flags and a yellow phase are anything but “normal” in a qualification. First of all, drivers should know their limits by the time the qualifying session comes around; second, some competitors appeared slightly overwhelmed by the circumstances. “That really annoyed me. Provoking and causing a red flag by stopping the car directly behind an emergency access corridor is distasteful and highly egotistic”, explained the Austrian.

It’s up to Reicher now to take matters in his own hands and deal with any circumstances to the best of his abilities for the three remaining race weekends of the 2017 season. His next opportunity is August 4-6 at the Nürburgring. All races will be broadcasted live on Sport1 TV and sport1.de.