Last weekend (11–13 October 2024), the third test of the Austrian Eastalent Racing Team took place in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint. As team manager Peter Reicher explained at the beginning of the test phase, the team wanted to assess whether there was a real chance of competing successfully in the toughest GT3 series in Europe. Their advantage: two weeks earlier, they had participated in the International GT Open Championship—champions in 2023 and current season leaders. That race was also held in Barcelona.

In the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint, the Kirchbergers had set their sights on a strong performance in their class, the Silver Cup. And already in the free practice sessions on Friday, they were on track for success with their Audi R8 LMS evo II – though several competitors were unwilling to let them through without a fight. The races on Saturday and Sunday were all about the podium. Twice third place and a trophy in each hand – the team could hardly believe its success.

“I have to say that the whole weekend was very successful for us. Whether we will be competing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint in the 2025 season, I will decide only after the final of the International GT Open in Monza next weekend. We must finish what we started before we talk about putting all our eggs in one basket,” said team manager Peter Reicher. When asked about his hunger for success and trophies, he added: “It is a great thing for us to start the show with such success. Two podium places in GT World, our very first, are something very special.”

Simon Reicher, son of the team owner and one of the two drivers, put it this way:
“To get to the point: a great weekend that exceeded all our expectations. We travelled to Barcelona with the goal of reaching the podium in the Silver Cup – that was the aim of our trip. But we already felt the ‘Formula 1 of GT3 motorsport’ in free practice. The guys here all know how to drive – absolute professional racing. You quickly realise that no easy task awaits you. My qualifying didn’t go quite as well, but the rain on Saturday played into our hands, even if the pit stop wasn’t perfect. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. But our strategy was great. With third place, we did almost everything right. My teammate this weekend was Karol Basz. He nailed his qualifying session but was a bit unlucky at the start of Sunday’s race. Nevertheless, he did a great job, and we were able to bring the result home. The bottom line is that there are still a few things we have to work on – but as newcomers, we expected that. In any case, the others now know they’ll have to reckon with us.”

Polish kart world champion of 2015 and GT3 driver Karol Basz commented on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint weekend like this:
“My first GT World weekend went very well for us as a team. We reached the podium twice at our Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Sprint debut – what a great performance! As a team, we showed a very good effort in qualifying. Simon did a great job. We are very satisfied with the results from both yesterday and today, especially under the difficult weather conditions on Saturday. We’re really happy with this weekend, and I can only thank the team for their great work.”

Next weekend, it’s all or nothing for the Kirchbergers. They’re already on their way to Monza with bag and baggage. The final of the International GT Open will be held from 25 to 27 October. They travel there as championship leaders – but the lead is wafer-thin. Can they defend their 2023 championship title?

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

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