 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Thomas Lüthi" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Thomas Lüthi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lüthi in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Swiss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1986-09-06)6 September 1986 (age 39)[1] Oberdiessbach, Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | thomasluethi.ch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thomas Lüthi (born 6 September 1986) is a Swiss sporting director atPrüstel GP,[2] and formerGrand Prix motorcycle racer. He spent 19 years in Grand Prix world championships, becomingone of only nine riders to reach 300 race starts,[3] spending much of his career with theInterwetten Paddock team, with who he became the2005 season's125cc world champion.[4]
Lüthi was born inOberdiessbach,Kanton Bern,Switzerland, but grew up inEmmental. Lüthi started racingpocket 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.
Lüthi made his first 125cc World Championship appearance at the2002 German Grand Prix, 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 inBarcelona and ended in second place. In2004, 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 the2005 season. Lüthi scored his first 125cc class Grand Prix win in 2005 atLe Mans, followed by three more victories that season, including one at his team's home race atBrno,Czech Republic. On 6 November 2005 Lüthi secured his firstworld championship in the 125cc class, the sixth-youngest person to do so; this took place atValencia. While using aHonda RS125R kit, Lüthi won the world championship title in the 125cc class, being five points ahead ofMika 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 the2005 125cc World Championship, Lüthi was partnered bySandro Cortese ofGermany and the team name was changed to "Elit — Caffè Latte". He scored his only win and only podium of the season at the2006 French Grand Prix. He lost his championship title toÁlvaro Bautista.[citation needed]
After the2006 season, Lüthi moved on to 250cc. The team changed their name to "Emmi — Caffè Latte", and defected toAprilia, racing on theAprilia RSA 250.
For 2008, Lüthi continued with the Aprilia RSA 250. Daniel Epp also ran an Aprillia LE forLukáš Pešek, under the Auto Kelly - CP branding. Lüthi did not have any podiums until the2008 Italian GP, where he finished at the podium in third place. AtAssen, he finished in second place behind Álvaro Bautista. At Brno, Lüthi crashed out of the race due to an apparent brake failure.
In 2009, Lüthi finished seventh overall in 250cc, although without a podium.
For 2010, Lüthi 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 atAssen, which was a position he acquired on the last lap after being in first place earlier in the race.[5] Lüthi had a collarbone injury during those two races.[6]
On 24 August 2017, it was announced that Lüthi would move up to MotoGP for the2018 season, partnering Moto2 title rivalFranco Morbidelli atEG 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.
On 12 August 2018, it was announced that Lüthi would step back to Moto2 for the2019 season, joining Dynavolt Intact GP. He replacedXavi Vierge, who moved to Marc VDS.
On 19 August 2021, Lüthi announced his retirement from racing after the2021 season. He will take on the role of Sports Director of thePrüstel GP Moto3 team, as well as their Junior Team, starting 2022.[7]
| Class | Seasons | 1st GP | 1st Pod | 1st Win | Race | Win | Podiums | Pole | FLap | Pts | WChmp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125cc | 2002–2006 | 2002 Germany | 2003 Catalunya | 2005 France | 67 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 444 | 1 |
| 250cc | 2007–2009 | 2007 Qatar | 2008 Italy | 47 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 361 | 0 | |
| Moto2 | 2010–2017, 2019–2021 | 2010 Qatar | 2010 Spain | 2011 Malaysia | 185 | 12 | 53 | 7 | 18 | 1852 | 0 |
| MotoGP | 2018 | 2018 Qatar | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2002–2021 | 317 | 17 | 65 | 12 | 19 | 2657 | 1 | |||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
As of 10 April 2025, Thomas Lüthi holds the following records:
Moto2
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Swiss Sportsman of the Year 2005 | Succeeded by |