Norwegian Mads Siljehaug (21) and German Lennart Marioneck (28) won the 2017 Reiter Young Stars competition (RYSC) and will now team up at the wheel of a Reiter Engineering Lamborghini in the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. The RYSC is a partnership between Reiter, SRO Motorsports Group and KTM. The unique competition is run within the GT4 European Series and aimed at developing driving and engineering talent, with each X-Bow GT4 run by university students.
How does it feel to be part of the Blancpain GT Series next year?
Mads Siljehaug: “It feels just as good as it sounds. I’m really happy to have achieved this goal in this short time I’ve been racing internationally.”
Lennart Marioneck: “It's a dream come true! The Blancpain GT Series has been the biggest GT Series in Europe for years and the level of competition is very high. It will be a pleasure to compete with so many good drivers on such popular tracks.”
What are your goals for the 2018 season?
Siljehaug: “My goal for next season will be to find my speed in the new ‘environment’ and do the best job I can every race.”
Marioneck: “Since we are driving in the Silver Cup we are aiming for some podium results there. With the high level of competition, it won't be easy, but who likes easy?”
How difficult was it to compete in the Reiter Young Stars Cup?
Siljehaug: “The driver line-up was again strong this year. I knew that every race would count in the end, so I took it race by race and tried my best to avoid collisions and damages.”
Marioneck: “The Reiter Young Stars Challenge is a really good programme for young drivers to make progress in their careers. Where else can you win a reward like this? That's also the reason why it is not easy to be on top in this competition. Because I missed the race weekend at the Slovakiaring, it was really tight in the end and I had to give my all to finish this high in the standings.”
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