Manthey Racing
Manthey Racing GmbH is a German auto racing team established in 1996 by former race car driver Olaf Manthey. Manthey Racing is currently competing in the Nürburgring Endurance Series, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and the GT2 European Series, and is also responsible for Porsche's factory efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Working with Porsche sports cars for most of their history, the team has been strongly linked with the German manufacturer, being purchased by Porsche for a 51% majority stake in 2013, and later becoming a full motorsport partner in 2021. History 
Retiring after the 1993 season of the original DTM series, Olaf Manthey began working for Persson Motorsport in 1994, which ran Mercedes race cars. After the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft series folded in 1996, Olaf Manthey established his own racing team, Olaf Manthey Racing, in the municipality of Rheinbreitbach.The team first raced in the Porsche Supercup in 1996, finishing 4th in the teams' standings with 158 points. The next four seasons between 1997 and 2000 saw four consecutive teams' and drivers' championships for Manthey Racing and their Dutch driver Patrick Huisman. Manthey would later take part in their first VLN event in 1998, where the team won the race outright with a Porsche 911 GT2 after 3 hours and 25 minutes of racing. In the following year, Manthey Racing competed in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking part in the annual endurance race for the first time, entering with a Porsche 911 (996) GT3-R. The team won on their first attempt in the LMGT class with Huisman, Uwe Alzen, and Luca Riccitelli. On 1 April 2000, Manthey Racing moved to their current location in the municipality of Meuspath. The team would expand the site in 2006. In 2013, Manthey Racing worked with Porsche to help enter and represent the German manufacturer in the LM GTE Pro class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team entered two cars for the 2013 season with the newly-unveiled Porsche 911 RSR, and Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Pilet, Timo Bernhard, Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, and Romain Dumas were selected for the driving lineups. Porsche and Manthey scored six podiums throughout the season, including a 1-2 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They would finish 3rd and 4th in the LM GTE Pro teams' standings. At the end of the year, Porsche worked with team owner Olaf Manthey on an agreement, in which Porsche bought a majority stake in Manthey Racing, taking a 51% share in the company. For the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship, Porsche and Manthey would finish 2nd and 4th with their #92 and #91 entries respectively, taking two wins and eight podiums, including a 3rd place finish in the LM GTE Pro class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. They would retain some of the driver lineup for that season from the previous year, but would replace Bernhard, Dumas, and Lieb with Frédéric Makowiecki, Nick Tandy, and Marco Holzer, as the former three would drive for Porsche's Le Mans Prototype team. Building on their progress in the FIA World Endurance Championship the following year, Porsche and Manthey were able to secure the FIA Endurance Trophy for the LM GTE Pro class in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship. Team driver Richard Lietz also won the LM GTE drivers' championship that year, known as the 'World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers'. For the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, Manthey Racing was selected by Porsche to help operate its GT3 team. Manthey won the 2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers' and teams' championships with Thomas Preining (who won the championship) and Dennis Olsen. 24 Hours of Nürburgring 

Manthey Racing has been a regular participant in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring endurance event since 2006, being absent for only the 2012 and 2023 editions. The team entered the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2006, with additional factory driver support from Porsche, running a 996-generation 911 GT3. Lucas Luhr, Timo Bernhard, Mike Rockenfeller, and Marcel Tiemann took victory for Manthey Racing in the event, and due to favorable conditions and stiff competition from rival cars, also achieved what was then a new overall distance record ( in 151 laps). The team would compete once again in 2007, this time with Porsche's latest offering at the time, the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, with drivers Bernhard, Tiemann, Marc Lieb, and Romain Dumas behind the wheel. Manthey Racing would take the win, after the leading Aston Martin DBRS9 had experienced an engine failure, and the sister 911 GT3 RSR entry from Land Motorsport had received damage from contact with the Manthey car during the race. Manthey Racing entered the 2008 edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours with five participating teams. Despite early drama for the team's #1 car, losing time with a leaky radiator and a tire failure, they were able to recover and eventually take the overall victory for the third year in a row, the car driven by Bernhard, Tiemann, Lieb, and Dumas. Manthey also scored an overall 1-2 finish in the race with their #23 Porsche 996 GT3 that previously won in 2006 finishing 2nd, with drivers Pierre Kaffer, Armin Hahne, Christian Haarmann, and Jochen Krumbach. The team's #26, #25, and #27 entries would finish 5th, 8th, and 12th respectively. The 2009 24 Hours of Nürburgring saw another victory for Manthey Racing with the #1 car, as well as a podium in the SP9 class with the #2 car. The 2010 24 Hours of Nürburgring saw Manthey Racing return to a five-team effort. Manthey's #9 entry debuted the flywheel hybrid-powered Porsche 997 GT3 R Hybrid sports car in the E1-XP class, and it would start strong, battling for the lead in the first stages of the race, though they would lose time after the car would suffer a puncture. Despite regaining the lead, however, the team would be forced to retire the car at the 22nd hour. At the end of the event, only one Manthey car crossed the line, the #88 car finishing 10th in the SP9 GT3 class. The 2011 race saw the team return to winning form, with the #18 car driven by Bernhard, Dumas, Lieb, and Lucas Luhr taking the overall win. The returning hybrid-powered 997 GT3 R also won the E1-XP class. Manthey returned to the 2013 24 Hours of Nürburgring after being absent in the 2012 event, winning the SP7 class, finishing 7th overall with Bernhard, Dumas, Lieb, and Luhr. For 2014, Manthey expanded back to four entries for the 2014 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Their #40 entry scored a podium finish in the SP7 class, finishing 16th overall. Two of their cars would unfortunately retire from the event, and the #12 entry finished 15th in the SP9 GT3 class. In 2016, Manthey won the SP-X class in the 2016 24 Hours of Nürburgring with a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport. In 2021, Manthey took the overall victory at the 2021 24 Hours of Nürburgring after just nine hours of racing. Results

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

24 Hours of Le Mans

24 Hours of Nürburgring

See also 

 Olaf Manthey
 Porsche in motorsport

Notes

References 

Auto racing teams established in 1996
1996 establishments in Germany
Auto racing teams in Germany
Porsche in motorsport
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters teams
FIA World Endurance Championship teams
24 Hours of Le Mans teams
Companies based in Rhineland-Palatinate
Blancpain Endurance Series teams
International GT Open teams
American Le Mans Series teams
Porsche Supercup teams
Mercedes-Benz in motorsport
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams
ADAC GT Masters teams
German racecar constructors
Automotive motorsports and performance companies