Austrian GT3 Team with strong Lineup at Nürburgring Qualifying

Nürburg, Germany: After securing second place at the International GT Open in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, just a week earlier, the Kirchberger team headed to the Nürburgring for the 24 Hours Nürburgring qualification last weekend (May 23-25). Although the distance between Spa and the Nürburgring is relatively short, the first stop was at the workshop in Neuensalz (Plauen) to pick up the Audi R8 LMS evo II prepared for qualifying.

The qualifying session on Saturday as well as the subsequent 4-hour race, were marked by typical Eifel weather. The Austrian squad of Christian Klien, Norbert Siedler, Max Hofer, and Simon Reicher faced heavy rain. The result was 15th place in qualifying. Team owner Peter Reicher explained: “We are newcomers to the Nordschleife and the underdogs among the GT3 teams. I’m more than satisfied with the performance. Of course, one always hopes for a great result. But at the end of the day, I’m also a realist and I know where we stand.” When the team was then ranked tenth overall after four hours, Peter Reicher added: “A great performance by everyone involved.”

Sunday’s qualifying session then brought almost euphoric mood to the team: eighth place among all the Nordschleife legends. At 1 p.m., the second 4-hour race of the weekend began. But then, at 2:12 p.m., the news came across the ticker – #84 Reicher/Klien/Siedler/Hofer (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II) was stopped sideways on the track after two impacts in the approach to Hatzenbach – and faces turned serious. However, after analyzing all the data and facts, Peter Reicher reported: “We simply have no experience with the Michelin tires. On Saturday, we tested all tire types under wet, damp, and aquaplaning conditions. But in dry conditions, we weren’t prepared for the tires suddenly delivering extreme grip. Simon couldn’t keep our Audi on track. We still have a lot to learn. Nevertheless, I’m more than satisfied with everyone’s overall performance. I was able to observe all weekend how the team dynamic and collaboration developed fantastically. According to our drivers, they were all more than satisfied with the car’s setup. This sets the stage perfectly for the highlight of the year in four weeks.”

Simon Reicher commented on the weekend: “This weekend was about preparing ourselves as best as possible for the 24-hour race, getting to know each other as a team, and testing things. We got along very well right from the start. And achieving tenth place under the difficult conditions on Saturday was a great performance. It was more of a miracle that we all made it around the track safely. However, we also have to honestly admit that we were lacking a bit of speed. But that’s a matter of risk management – how much risk are you willing to take? For us, that was not an option. It was about logging kilometers. Max Hofer’s performance in Sunday’s qualification was sensational. Starting the race from eighth position was already a big highlight. The fact that I then lost our Audi at Hatzenbach during my stint was very frustrating. Better that it happened during the rehearsal than in the main 24-hour race. All in all, it was good preparation for us.”

But for now, it’s off to the International GT Open at the Hockenheimring. Peter Reicher’s team will aim to collect the next championship points during the next event June 6-8.