After many years in international karting, Simon Reicher was back racing in Italy for the first time in 1.5 years. The 17-year-old with his own team, Simon Reicher Motorsport Activities, had a difficult weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Styria just one week prior. Supported by Certainty Racing Team Northern Italy, the young Austrian was now all the more motivated to compete in his first guest appearance in the ACI TCR Italy Series at the historic Autodromo Nationale di Monza.

The 5.793 kilometer long track at Monza is a high-speed course with long straights and a full-throttle ratio of over 80% in a TCR car! “There are some passages, Ascari for example, where you really need a lot of courage. But once you’ve understood them, it’s absolutely amazing and great fun to drive”, reported the native Kirchberger. During the subsequent free practice session, Reicher clearly proved he understood the circuit. “Everything worked out right from the start. The track is so quick. You’re switching into sixth gear while still exiting the last corner. Incredible! We placed sixth in this session”, he proclaimed excitedly. And this was just the beginning of a fast weekend, as the seventh grader of the Werkschulheim Felbertal would go on to experience several highlights. After fifth place during second free practice, the qualifying sessions saw Reicher placing in fourth and sixth position for the races. The youngster’s success streak would soon be interrupted by two Italian competitors, who briefly forced him into the gravel in race one – they went on to receive time penalties from the stewards. Handicapped by a damaged tire, the Austrian impressively finished in fourth, but thereby also closely missed the cherished podium.

Race two the next morning involved a lot of action, as Simon Reicher reports on his experiences from inside the cockpit: “The start was perfect, I had great acceleration coming off the line. In front of me, however, was the competitor who already massively blocked me in yesterday’s race. I tried everything, but had no chance to compete against his unfair maneuvers, which ended up sending me through the grass, losing numerous positions. In my opinion, there was some pretty brutal driving out there. I was able to close the gap quickly to two drivers who were fighting hard with each other. We had just two laps to go when they made contact! I seized the chance, passed both of them at once, and squeezed into fourth position. In Ascari I then made a small mistake changing gears, lost some momentum and was passed by an opponent. Now driving in full attack mode, I put the Italian competitor under enormous pressure, caused him to make a mistake under breaking, and regained the position in the Parabolica. I saved fourth place, but unfortunately no podium finish.” Reicher is frustrated, yet overwhelmed by the race weekend.

Monza, the legendary track, the atmosphere, and the historic banked curves impressed Simon Reicher. But more importantly, he greatly impressed competitors, teams, organizers, and fans with his fantastic performance. Roberto Marazzi from ACI Sport Italy praised Simon: “He showed his true abilities and drove his heart out, the spectators loved it!” The next race on Reicher’s agenda will take place July 7-9 in the Magdeburger Börde, where the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben will be hosting the ADAC TCR Germany Championship.