You took your chance. Simon Reicher and Norbert Siedler may have benefited from the chaotic weather in qualifying. But they seized the opportunity and capitalized on it with third place in Saturday’s race while other teams gave away podiums and more.
Reicher, Siedler and team owner Peter Reicher commented on ‘Motorsport-Total.com’ about the best result since Reicher took over the then team Yaco Racing in 2019. It is the first podium finish in the team’s history since Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel won on August 21, 2016 – also in Zandvoort.
Of course, qualifying brought the preliminary decision. “We were a little lucky. We told ourselves that it might rain and we should therefore drive out straight away. Then it started to dribble on my fast lap. Nevertheless, we somehow managed to drive to the point,” says Simon Reicher, who took sixth place on the grid in this way.
But it would be wrong to blame everything on pure luck in the morning rain. Because the Eastalent-Audi also had the necessary speed. In the opening stint, Reicher initially made up positions and was soon third. He kept within striking distance of the second-placed ID Porsche #44 (Evans/Fittje). That should be important at the pit stop.
And in the second stint, Siedler even had the pace to put Dennis Marschall in front of him under pressure. “We’re just at the beginning [des Stints] a little faster than Marschall, but overtaking is of course impossible if the other person doesn’t make a mistake,” says Siedler.
“Heart attack” at the pit stop
The Rutronik-Audi #27 (Marschall/Schramm) was also the vehicle that gave the Austrian team the biggest shock. At the pit stop, Rutronik Racing was a bit braver and sent Dennis Marschall off again early. Siedler had to sort himself behind, but was in the working lane longer than allowed. The race director left it at a warning.
“I had a heart attack,” laughs team owner Peter Reicher, who is always in a good mood after the race. This time, of course, he had a lot to joke about.
Siedler explains the situation from his point of view: “I was next to Dennis at the pit exit. I let him go and was then just behind him. When the Porsche came out of the pits, I drove high up next to him until turn 7. Then I was in front of him. That was the only dramatic thing about my stint.”
According to Peter Reicher, there were initially concerns about Ricardo Feller, who was driving behind Siedler: “Everyone knows how fast this devil is. And he also caught up. But Norbert made a great parry and then you could see from the sector times: Ricardo has his Powder shot because he pushed so hard. Norbert then drove it home sensibly. I’m very satisfied.”
The fact that Siedler was then also able to put pressure on Dennis Marschall aroused further hopes: “Then there are cravings, where he saw: The Rutronik-Audi is still in front of you and can still be reached. The Lambo too [an der Spitze] weakened, but the race distance was just too short.” Third place was Simon Reicher’s first podium finish in the ADAC GT Masters.
Finally a strong result
“It somehow feels empty after this tension, after this tough race,” continued Peter Reicher. The team has purchased a brand new Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II especially for this season. Last year we had a very old car from the year it was built.
Siedler confirms: “The old car was a real box. Five, six years old, bent and everything. Nothing really works there.” The engineering team has also strengthened over the winter. Eastalent, a mixture of letters from the words leasing, rental and event, still embodies the “old school” of the ADAC GT Masters. The mission is lifted without any factory support.
So you finally have the car where you want it? “It’s always a double-edged sword,” Reicher replies. “It depends a) on the routes and b) you have to remember: you can always improve.”
“We shouldn’t compare ourselves to other brands either. We can only compare ourselves to our own brand. The other Audis are the benchmark for us. There are very experienced teams there. If we can keep up there, we can keep up in general. “
He admits that the team hasn’t been entirely satisfied with the first races of the season. In Oschersleben there was the first top 10 result in the second race, but a step backwards followed in Spielberg. “We expected more than finishing in the points three times,” he admits.
It is therefore important for him: “The whole team really got involved and looked at what could be improved in order to get to a higher level. The bottom line is that we have to say: We have now been rewarded for being tough have worked. For us as private individuals, that’s a lot of work to do.”
Now the pressure is on Norbert Siedler, who is doing qualifying on Sunday. Because the result also increases expectations: “Because everything is so close together here, you always have to do a great lap in qualifying. I’ll try that tomorrow. The goal for me is clearly the top 5 in tomorrow’s qualifying. That will be I’m sure it will be close, but I’ll do my best. Then we’ll see.”