Born : April 21 1955
Biography Olaf Manthey
As a kid, Olaf Manthey’s father took him to the Nürburgring to watch F1 and sportscar races. We’re speaking end 1960s. Immediately, the teenanger Manthey felt at ease amidst the race cars, the mechanics, the sound of roaring engines. The smell of petrol and burnt rubber made him long for more. Olaf Manthey knew this was what he wanted to be : a race driver. At the age of 17, Olaf Manthey drove laps at the Nordschleife in his Fiat 500, without even having a drivers license. He dis all the mechanics himself, and tried to make the car as light and fast as possible.
In 1974, Manthey drove his first race, the Junioren Trophy in Zandvoort, in a Simca 1200S. Even though Olaf Manthey competed one year in a 1 seater series, the Formula V, he preferred to be at the wheel of Touring Cars. In 1982 and 1983, Manthey won the Ford Sport Cup. The good results did not remain unrewarded/ In 1984, Olaf Manthey signed his first contract to become works driver for Austin. He competed in the DTM (Deutsche Tourwagen Meisterschaft) and won 2 races. Manthey combined his race career with a daily job in mechanical engineering. He drove excavators and lorries for a living. That made him ‘Germany’s fastest excavator driver”.
Olaf Manthey and the Porsche Carrera Cup
In 1990, the Porsche Carrera Cup made its first appearance. A interesting series for Manthey, and he jumped in. That was a good decision, as he secured the first title in 1990 at the wheel of the Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Cup (964 generation) producing 265 hp. Despite several attempts as a racer himself, Olaf Manthey never won the 24H of the Nürburgring. In 1993, Manthey threw the towel as a racer. However, he did not quit racing at all. On the contrary, as team owner of the Manthey Racing team, Olaf Manthey kept doing what he loved : practice motorsports. In 2000, the Manthey Racing team moved to a new workshop close to the Nürburgring.
Olaf Manthey and the 24H Nürburgring
In 2006, finally a dream came true for Olaf Manthey. Due to good conditions and stiff competition by similar cars, a new overall distance record (3,832 km (2,381 mi) in 151 laps) was scored by the Porsche 996 GT3 of Manthey Racing that already had been the best privateer team in the previous three years. One of the team members was Timo Bernhard. In 2007, under horrific conditions, the Manthey Racing Team repeated their success. That same year, Manthey lost his son in a fatal accident. For a while, he considered to quit racing.
However, he was massively supported by his team members. Manthey felt responsible for them, and continued. In 2008, a mechanic came to Olaf Manthey before the race. They made a bet : if the Manthey Racing team won the race for the 3rd consecutive time, Olaf Manthey would shave his signature moustache. Early in the race, the Manthey team had to repair a leaking radiator. They came back in the race, far behind the leaders. However, a seldom seen catchup made the impossible possible, and the Manthey team won the race for a third time in a row, with the winning car of 2006 (a Porsche 996 model) finishing 2nd. From then on, Olaf Manthey went on his life without moustache. In 2009, Manthey Racing wins the 24H Nurburgring even for the 4th time.
In 2013, Olaf Manthey meant this was the time to slower down. Manthey Racing and Raeder Racing joined forces and continued under the Manthey Racing team name. At the same time, Porsche AG bought 51% of the shares of Manthey Racing.. The Manthey-Racing GmbH is the most successful Porsche racing team worldwide and it calls the Nürburgring its home. The company is specialized on developing and driving Porsche race cars, along with services for road vehicles from Zuffenhausen. The company, of which Porsche itself holds a share capital of 51 percent, was founded by Olaf Manthey in 1996.
Watch the video telling the story of Olaf Manthey
More information at www.manthey-racing.de
