Motorsport latecomer feels at home in the Prototype Cup Germany. Together with Donar Munding, he has already claimed a podium and one win. Lüthen leads the Trophy competition going into the final weekend.

Matthias Lüthen leads the Trophy competition after three of four race weekends in the Prototype Cup Germany. The driver from Hamburg was a latecomer to the world of motorsport, but his relative lack of experience has not prevented him from already achieving a number of top results alongside his team-mate Donar Munding. For example, the Mühlner Motorsport duo finished runner-up at the Nürburgring to make its first appearance on the podium in July, only to go one better and take victory just a few weeks later at the Lausitzring. “The win felt really good, as it was my very first triumph in motorsport,” says Lüthen. “However, I was almost more thrilled with the second place at the Nürburgring. The previous year did not go so well at all: I had a lot of technical issues in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, and consequently did not get any good results. After those bad experiences, my podium in the Eifel was kind of liberating. I noticed that everything was now moving in the right direction and starting to come together.”

Lüthen is a classic latecomer to motor racing. “A few years ago, I gave my brother a ride in an old Formula 3000 car for his stag do, and was able to drive a few laps myself too. I was immediately bitten by the racing bug.” He booked more test days, did his licence and, at the end of 2019, contested his first race at the wheel of a Formula Renault 2.0 in the Drexler Automotive Cup. “I finished runner-up once and third once. I thought to myself – with hindsight, probably a little overconfident: apparently I’m pretty good at this, I must make the step up to a higher class.” And so Lüthen set off in search of a test drive in the high-class Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, a search that unexpectedly turned into an opportunity to race in the finale. “I realised that the Eurocup is a completely different world to the Drexler Automotive Cup; I had absolutely no chance and finished next to last, well off the pace.”

Nevertheless, the 38-year-old at the time was not to be discouraged and remained loyal to Formula cars – first in Formula Renault, then Formula 3. “At some point I came into contact with Motopark, with whom I did a lot of testing. When regular driver Jak Crawford had to miss a round of the 2021 EuroFormula Open, team principal Timo Rumpfkeil asked me whether I would like to stand in for him. I was able to match the other drivers in the final third of the race and had a few nice battles with my rivals – that was more than I expected and, looking back, was the highlight of my time in Formula racing.”

In the meantime, a new field had surprisingly opened up for the businessman. “Tom Dillmann, my coach at Motopark, had asked me at the start of 2021 whether I fancied entering a race in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with him. At that time, I did not know exactly what an LMP3 car was. So, I travelled to Barcelona and took my place in an LMP3 car for the first time at that race weekend. I qualified fourth from a field of 26 cars.” And so it was clear that the world of prototypes would be his new sporting home.

After the spontaneous outing for Mühlner Motorsport in Spain, he found a team – Team Virage – for whom he was able to contest the following races in the Michelin Le Mans Cup. However, a host of technical issues meant the LMP newcomer was not happy there. When it emerged that the Prototype Cup Germany would be launched in 2022, Lüthen was immediately interested. “It is a German racing series, with both ADAC and Creventic behind it, and I have been able to work with Mühlner again. I also get on very well with my team-mate Donar Munding. And things are going excellently on the track too: Donar leads the Junior competition, I am first in the Trophy, and we currently lie second in the Drivers’ Championship. We now want to defend those positions at the finale in Hockenheim, particularly the two leads, and are preparing meticulously for it. For me as a Bronze driver, the Prototype Cup Germany is definitely a challenge. However, I feel very comfortable here. I believe the standard of the field in general is very high, but there is still a great atmosphere among us drivers. We respect each other, but still fight hard for positions out on the track.”

Lüthen has set himself the goal of competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “That is probably the logical goal for any LMP3 driver and it is what I am working towards, even if it is obviously not possible yet.” Next year, he wants to spend another season in an LMP3 car. “I believe I can still learn a lot before moving on to LMP2. When I do make the step up, I want to be 100% ready.”