Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director at

Prüstel GP Prüstel GP is a motorcycle racing team based in Oberlungwitz, Saxony, Germany. The team competes in the Moto3 World Championship under the name CFMoto Racing Prüstel GP. History The team was founded in 2008 by Dirk Heidolf and named Racing T ...

, and former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becoming one of only six riders to reach 300 race starts, spending much of his career with the Interwetten Paddock team, with who he became the 2005 season's 125cc world champion.

Career

Early career

Lüthi was born in

Oberdiessbach Oberdiessbach is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the former municipality of Aeschlen and on 1 January 2014, Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach merged into the municipal ...

, Kanton Bern,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, but grew up in

Emmental The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dair ...

. Lüthi started racing pocket bikes at the age of nine. He won pocket bike championships in 1999 and 2000. In 2002, he finished second overall in the European 125cc Championship, and third in the German 125cc series.

125cc World Championship

Lüthi made his first 125cc World Championship appearance at the

2002 German Grand Prix The 2002 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2002) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 July 2002 at Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the twelfth round of the 2002 Formula On ...

, which he finished in 26th place. In the 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Lüthi was invited by Daniel Epp to ride for his team, known as the "Elit Grand Prix Team"; Epp became his manager. Lüthi scored his first podium in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and ended in second place. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, he retired from four races in a row, missed four races because of injury, and scored 14 points. Andy Ibbott of California Superbike School started training Thomas during the 2005 season. Lüthi scored his first 125cc class Grand Prix win in 2005 at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, followed by three more victories that season, including one at his team's home race at

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. On 6 November 2005 Lüthi secured his first

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in the 125cc class, the sixth-youngest person to do so; this took place at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. While using a Honda RS125R kit, Lüthi won the world championship title in the 125cc class, being five points ahead of Mika Kallio. Lüthi was voted Swiss sportsman of the year in 2005 and also won the annual "Swiss Award" in the category of sport. After winning the 2005 125cc World Championship, he was partnered by Sandro Cortese of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the team name was changed to "Elit — Caffè Latte". He scored his only win and only podium of the season at the

2006 French Grand Prix The 2006 French Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix de France 2006) was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, near Magny-Cours, France on 16 July 2006. The 70-lap race was the eleventh round of the 2006 ...

. He lost his championship title to

Álvaro Bautista Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish motorcycle road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, with Ducati factory team. After the 2019 World Superbike season with the factory Ducati team, for 2020 and 2021 h ...

250cc World Championship

After the 2006 season, Lüthi moved on to 250cc. The team changed their name to "Emmi — Caffè Latte", and defected to

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles ...

, racing on the Aprilia RSA 250. For 2008, Lüthi continued with the Aprilia RSA 250. Daniel Epp also ran an Aprillia LE for

Lukáš Pešek Lukáš Pešek (born 22 November 1985 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech motorcycle racer. He competes in the Alpe Adria Road Race Superbike Championship and the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a BMW S1000RR. He won the Alpe Adria Road ...

, under the Auto Kelly - CP branding. Lüthi did not have any podiums until the 2008 Italian GP, where he finished at the podium in third place. At Assen, he finished in second place behind Álvaro Bautista. At Brno, Lüthi crashed out of the race due to an apparent brake failure. In 2009, he finished seventh overall in 250cc, although without a podium.

Moto2 World Championship

For 2010, he remained with the team in the Moto2 class that replaced the 250cc category. At Silverstone, Lüthi finished in second place. Lüthi finished in third place at Assen, which was a position he acquired on the last lap after being in first place earlier in the race. Lüthi had a collarbone injury during those two races.

MotoGP World Championship

On 24 August 2017, it was announced that Lüthi would move up to MotoGP for the 2018 season, partnering Moto2 title rival

Franco Morbidelli Franco Morbidelli (born 4 December 1994) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer in MotoGP, riding for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team. He became champion in the 2013 European Superstock 600 Championship, and the 2017 Moto2 World Champion ...

at EG 0,0 Marc VDS. Lüthi did not score a single point throughout his first MotoGP campaign, with his best result being 16th place at Losail, Le Mans, Brno, Phillip Island, and Sepang.

Return to Moto2

On 12 August 2018, it was announced that Lüthi would step back to Moto2 for the 2019 season, joining Dynavolt Intact GP. He replaced

Xavi Vierge Xavier Vierge Zafra (born 30 April 1997) is a Spanish motorcycle racer, contracted to race for Honda Racing Corporation in the 2022 Superbike World Championship. Career Early career Born in Barcelona, Vierge was the 2015 FIM CEV Moto2 Europ ...

, who moved to Marc VDS.

Retirement

On 19 August 2021, he announced his retirement from racing after the season. He will take on the role of Sports Director of the

Moto3 team, as well as their Junior Team, starting 2022.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * *
Tom Lüthi ist der «Star des Jahres» von www.startalk.ch
*
Radio Basilisk-Interview nach dem 1. Sieg in Le Mans (wma, schweizerdeutsch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luthi, Thomas 1986 births Swiss motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders Living people Moto2 World Championship riders Marc VDS Racing Team MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders People from Bern-Mittelland District Sportspeople from the canton of Bern