For years the young Austrian Simon Reicher has dreamed of competing in a famous 24-hour endurance race. A few days ago he took a big step toward his dream. Sleepless, impatient nights prior to the big day – but the time finally came. There it stood: his Audi RS3 LMS Ultra. Delivered over night from the designer in Rattenkirchen to the Zandvoort circuit, wrapped in a custom-made, black fabric cover with four Audi rings and the RS3-LMS slogan imprinted, the soft fabric hinted at every single contour of the GT car. „I just couldn’t wait to see my Audi RS3 LMS Ultra, get in the driver’s seat, and drive my first laps. Thank god there were a few liters of gasoline in the tank and I could get started right away.“

The roar of the Audi RS3 could be heard across the entire Circuit Park Zandvoort under the blue, sunset sky. It was that special moment, the sound that gives every motorsports fan goose bumps. Back in the pit lane, Reicher didn’t want to get out of the car. Every detail was subject to his critical, enlightened eyes, whereby his smile lasted the rest of the day, speaking more than a thousand words. „When the Audi was presented during the last year’s ADAC GT Masters event at Hockenheim Ring, we were already certain that this would be our next car. It is incredible that the same vehicle can be raced in club sports all the way to international, 24-hour competitions without any major modifications. This was definitely a convincing feature“, said Peter Reicher, Simon’s father. And Simon adds: „For me, the Audi is the most beautiful car in the TCR starter field. Its bodywork design, the front lip, and large spoiler – it’s as if the car was made from just a single mold. The asphalt traction is amazing and 330 horsepower are quite impressive, too“, Reicher excitedly observes his new car. Up until now, the 17-year-old has driven the Renault Clio. In addition to having 220 horsepower less under the hood, it doesn’t have front and rear spoilers, which enable increased down force on a car. High corner speeds are therefore not possible with the Renault. With the Audi, these traction difficulties are no longer an issue for Austria’s youngest touring car driver. „The corner speeds are impressive. These two days here in Zandvoort were my first roll-out of the year and now I’m very excited about the coming season!“, the 17-year-old seventh grader of the Werkschulheim-Gymnasium Felbertal summed up his first experiences in the Audi.

We wanted to find out from the young Austrian „What is your connection to this circuit? You are seen quite often here in Zandvoort. The endurance winter classics, testing your new car for the first time…“ – „There are two simple answers: First, my fantastic team certainty.nl is based here in Zandvoort and second, as a non-skiing Austrian, I happen to have great support in Holland. Erik Weijers, manager of Circuit Park Zandvoort, is a huge fan of me and my team.“