Strong performance after difficult training

At the beginning of the weekend it did not look promising: the first free practice sessions were rather mixed. But already in the first qualifying on Saturday, Simon Reicher was able to deliver a strong performance with sixth place. In the race, the team achieved a solid result with fifth place.

The real moment of triumph followed on Sunday: Christopher Haase started from pole position in the second qualifying – the starting signal for a dominant race. From the outset, the Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II clearly pulled away from the rest of the field. After a penalty-free stint, Christopher handed over the cockpit to his teammate Simon, who finally brought it to the finish line.

Simon Reicher euphoric: “The car was world-class on the asphalt. We didn't find anything we could have done better. The Eastalent rocket has once again flown. Despite an unfavorable BoP classification, we gave everything and celebrated a start-to-finish victory. In this way, we also take the lead in the championship.”

Historic success at the 300th GT Open race

For the team, the victory was not only sporting, but also historically significant: “We are competing to win,” says Christopher Haase. “It makes it even more special that we won the 300th international GT Open race. We were at the forefront of every session. The vehicle setup was perfect – and Simon did a fantastic job. The victory was absolutely deserved.”

Peter Reicher: Success with strategy and team performance

Team manager Peter Reicher was also extremely satisfied: “After the two second places at the Hockenheimring, we had to cope with an additional 15 seconds service time at the pit stop. We would not have thought that we could win under these conditions. On Saturday, we lost out by five seconds – but with the extra ten seconds in Sunday’s race, we had a difficult task ahead of us. Christopher made up that time again on the track, and Simon secured the lead with his incredible pace.”

Next stop: Paul Ricard

The Eastalent team will travel from 18th to 20th September to Paul Ricard in southern France for the next GT Open race, carrying an additional service time as ballast. The team wants to attack again there – with the clear goal of further extending their championship lead.

Photo: C group

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