With the penultimate round of the International GT Open in Barcelona, the excitement surrounding the 2024 championship continues to rise. Last weekend (September 27 to 29), the reigning champions of the series, the Kirchberg-based GT3 team, travelled to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with only a two-point lead. As team manager Peter Reicher explained, the focus is firmly on the drivers’ championship title.
“Thanks to our drivers Christopher Haase and Simon Reicher, we won the team title last season. However, it was revoked at the green table. Therefore, it’s only fair for me if they also secure the drivers’ title this season.”

The Eastalent Racing crew had already anticipated that the asphalt in Barcelona would not make for an easy weekend. With 12th place in the first qualifying session on Saturday and 10th in the race, the challenges were significant. Only Sunday’s second place in qualifying and a strong third-place podium finish brought the desired relief.

“The nervousness was palpable in the team and especially with me. We’re aware that we’re now in the hot phase of the title fight. This alone is incredibly exciting for us as a young team in our still-young team history. My wish would have been to create clear conditions and go into Monza a bit more relaxed. Still, despite being equal on points, we’re leading due to better results so far. We’ll take on the big challenge in Monza and hope to settle everything there,” reports Peter Reicher.

Simon Reicher described the weekend this way:
“Basically, the asphalt and the tyres made it a tough weekend for us. Even though we were competitive, the driving wasn’t enjoyable. Especially in my qualifying session, we had a lot of bad luck. There was definitely more in it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fun. All in all, we gave everything for the title. Now we head to Monza level on points. Whoever finishes ahead in Monza wins the championship at the end of the year.”

Points, points, points—it was crucial to collect as many as possible in Barcelona in order to take as little pressure as possible into Monza. A simple formula, but one that’s difficult to execute. Audi factory driver Christopher Haase put it like this:
“Basically, I’m satisfied with the weekend, even though Barcelona has never really been our strength. In terms of car performance, our engineers and mechanics did a fantastic job. They developed a plan to push our sector speeds into the purple. We gave it everything, collected points, and are now heading to the finale in Monza, which promises plenty of excitement. We’ll see who comes out on top in Monza.”

The final round of the International GT Open will take place from October 18 to 20 in Monza, Italy.

Text: www.kartnet.de / Michael Schulz
Photo: www.kartpress.de / Michael Schulz

---