Eastalent Rocket Takes Off Again – Historic Victory for Team Reicher at the Hungaroring

Budapest, Hungary, July 4–6, 2025: This past weekend, the international GT Open field set up camp at the legendary Hungaroring in Hungary – and the Austrian Eastalent Racing Team, led by team owner Peter Reicher, made history.

Strong Performance After Tough Practice Sessions

Things didn’t look promising at the beginning of the weekend: the initial free practice sessions were rather mixed. But already in Saturday’s first qualifying, Simon Reicher delivered a strong performance, securing sixth place. In the race, the team achieved a solid result by finishing fifth.

The real highlight came on Sunday: Christopher Haase claimed pole position in the second qualifying session with confidence – the starting point for a dominant race. From the very beginning, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II clearly pulled away from the rest of the field. After a flawless stint, Christopher handed over the cockpit with a comfortable lead to his teammate Simon, who brought it home to the finish line.

Simon Reicher ecstatically explains: “The car felt world-class on the asphalt. We couldn’t find anything we would’ve done better. The Eastalent rocket flew again today. Despite an unfavorable BoP rating, we gave it our all and celebrated a lights-to-flag victory. With that, we’re taking back the championship lead.”

Historic Milestone at the 300th GT Open Race

The win was not only a sporting success but also a historic milestone for the team: “We’re here to win,” said Christopher Haase. “The fact that we also won the 300th international GT Open race makes it even more special. We were up front in every session. The car setup was spot on – and Simon did a fantastic job. The victory was absolutely deserved.”

Peter Reicher: Strategy and Team Performance Led to Success

Team owner Peter Reicher was equally pleased: “After two second-place finishes at Hockenheim, we had to deal with a 15-second additional pit stop time here. We didn’t expect to win under those conditions. On Saturday, we reduced that penalty by five seconds with our fifth-place finish – but with 10 seconds of extra time still hanging over Sunday’s race, we faced a tough challenge. Christopher made up that time on the track, and Simon sealed the win with his incredible pace.”

Next Stop: Paul Ricard

Carrying another 20 seconds of added pit stop time, the Eastalent team heads to the next GT Open round at Paul Ricard in southern France from July 18 to 20. Their clear goal is to keep extending their championship lead.