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German racing driver (born 1979) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lucas Luhr (born 22 July 1979) is a German racing driver. He is a staple of the American Le Mans Series during the 2000s and early 2010s, winning the GT class with Porsche in 2002, the LMP2 category in 2006, and taking the overall LMP1 championship as part of the Audi Sport North America works outfit in 2008.[1] He also won the P1 title in 2012 and 2013, driving for Honda-fielding Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.[2]
 | This article needs to be updated. (October 2016) |
| Lucas Luhr | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lucas Luhr in 2007 | |||||||||||
| Nationality |  German | ||||||||||
| Born | 22 July 1979 (age 45) Mülheim-Kärlich, West Germany | ||||||||||
| Racing licence |  FIA Gold | ||||||||||
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Luhr's GT successes in Europe included class victories at the 2002 and 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans races with Porsche, as well as the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship title.[3][4] In 2014, Luhr became a BMW factory driver, with whom he won the 2015 24 Hours of Spa, before departing in 2017.[5][6][7]
Born in Mülheim-Kärlich, Luhr began his career in karts in 1989. Throughout the early 1990s, he won several local and national karting trophies. He became a factory driver for the CRG company in 1994, winning the European Karting Championship and placing 4th in the Karting World Championship. In 1995, he moved to the Jolly Kart factory team, competing in the European and World championships.
Luhr moved to cars in 1996, becoming vice-champion of the German Formula Ford championship. He raced in the German Formula Three Championship in 1997 and 1998, winning the 1998 season opening round at the Hockenheimring.
Luhr became a Porsche factory driver for the 1999 season. He won the 1999 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland championship driving for the UPS Junior Team. In 2000, he moved to the American Le Mans Series, driving a Porsche 911 GT3-R for Dick Barbour Racing and partnering with Dirk Müller. He collected class wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1000 km Nürburgring, and Race of 1000 Years in Adelaide, as well as the ALMS GT class championship in his first season.
Luhr began the 2001 season with a class win in the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for White Lightning Racing. In the ALMS, he partnered with Sascha Maassen at Alex Job Racing, again in a 911. The duo won the 12 Hours of Sebring, but had a disappointing season as the BMW M3 GTRs dominated the season. Luhr and Maassen finished 4th in the championship.
In 2002, Luhr and Maassen dominated the ALMS GT class, winning seven of ten races, including Sebring and Petit Le Mans. Luhr also won the GT class at Le Mans, driving with Kevin Buckler and Timo Bernhard for The Racer's Group.
For 2003, Luhr continued his winning ways with Maassen and AJR. The duo Sebring for the third straight year, giving Luhr his fourth straight class win, tying him with Bob Holbert for most consecutive class wins. In June, the pair, joined by Emmanuel Collard, captured the GT class at Le Mans. Luhr and Maassen would take 5 wins from 9 races and win the ALMS GT championship for the second straight year.
After a second place at Sebring, Luhr moved to the FIA GT Championship for the 2004 season. He and Maassen won 6 races driving for Friesinger Motorsport and won their third consecutive championship together.
In 2005, Luhr's primary job was the development of the new Porsche RS Spyder, which was to make its full-time debut in 2006. He also raced in the big events in 911s, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Spa 24 Hours. Luhr also won the Laguna Seca 4 Hours LMP2 class, in the debut race of the RS Spyder.
For 2006, Luhr rejoined Maassen, but moved to Penske Racing to drive the RS Spyder. The duo had a rough start to the season, netting only one class win. Luhr would finish the season driving with Romain Dumas and take two more victories to end as vice-champion with Maassen. Luhr also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring overall, driving with Timo Bernhard, Marcel Tiemann, and Mike Rockenfeller.
For 2007, Luhr became a factory Audi driver. Luhr raced in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, driving an Audi A4 DTM for Audi Sport Team Rosberg. He participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving the LMP1 class R10 TDI.
In 2008, he drove in the American Le Mans Series with Marco Werner in an Audi R10, the pair won the LMP1 class drivers title after six overall wins and eight class wins. He was also fourth overall at Le Mans.
In the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans race, Luhr crashed Audi's new R15 TDI into a tire wall during the 7th hour. Race officials declared the car unable to finish the race.
For 2010, Luhr has been driving in select events for Audi factory-supported teams in GT races. He competed in the VLN and at the Nürburgring 24 Hours for Team Abt Sportsline, and also for Phoenix Racing at the Spa 24 Hours. He also competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona finishing 3rd for Level 5 Motorsports.
In 2011, Luhr competed in the FIA GT1 World Championship for JR Motorsports, winning the drivers' championship with Michael Krumm in a Nissan GT-R.
For 2012, Luhr competed in the American Le Mans Series for Muscle Milk Motorsports, where he was the LMP1 champion and the Rolex Sports Car Series for Starworks Motorsport where he finished 12th in points with one race win. In 2013, he returned to Muscle Milk in ALMS LMP1 and also won the 24 Hours Nürburgring SP7 class in a Manthey Racing Porsche.
On 26 July 2013, it was announced that Luhr would make his IndyCar Series debut with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing at Sonoma Raceway in conjunction with RW Motorsports.[8] It was his first open wheel race since he competed in German Formula Three in 1998.
Luhr was featured, along with Marion Jones and Marla Streb, in the large format film, Top Speed, hosted by Tim Allen. Luhr's appearance in the film focuses on his championships in the 24 Hours of Le Mans while he was driving for Porsche. The film was produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Did not finish the race but was classified as his car completed more than 70% of the overall winner's race distance.
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 |  Dick Barbour Racing |
Dirk Müller Bob Wollek |
Porsche 911 GT3-R | GT | 319 | DSQ | DSQ |
| 2002 | The Racer's Group |
Kevin Buckler Timo Bernhard |
Porsche 911 GT3-RS | GT | 322 | 16th | 1st |
| 2003 | Alex Job Racing Petersen Motorsports |
Sascha Maassen Emmanuel Collard |
Porsche 911 GT3-RS | GT | 320 | 14th | 1st |
| 2007 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Mike Rockenfeller Alexandre Prémat |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 23 | DNF | DNF |
| 2008 | Audi Sport Team Joest |
Mike Rockenfeller Alexandre Prémat |
Audi R10 TDI | LMP1 | 374 | 4th | 4th |
| 2009 | Audi Sport North America |
Marco Werner Mike Rockenfeller |
Audi R15 TDI | LMP1 | 104 | DNF | DNF |
| 2011 | Flying Lizard Motorsports |
Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Long |
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR | GTE Pro |
310 | 18th | 6th |
| 2013 |  Jota Sport |
Simon Dolan Oliver Turvey |
Zytek Z11SN-Nissan | LMP2 | 319 | 13th | 7th |
| Source:[23] | |||||||
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Retired, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race winner's distance.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos. | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Muscle Milk Pickett Racing | P | Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | DAY 5 |
SEB 13 |
LBH | LAG | DET | WGL | MOS | IMS | ROA | COA | PET | 36th | 46 | [25] |
| 2015 | BMW Team RLL | GTLM | BMW Z4 GTE | BMW 4.4 L V8 | DAY 4 |
SEB 4 |
LBH 5 |
LAG 1 |
WGI 8 |
MOS 2 |
ROA 6 |
VIR 4 |
AUS 7 |
PET 2 |
5th | 291 | [26] | |
| 2016 | BMW Team RLL | GTLM | BMW M6 GTLM | BMW S63 4.4 L Twin Turbo V8 | DAY 11 |
SEB 6 |
LBH 10 |
LGA 10 |
WGL 8 |
MOS 9 |
LIM 9 |
ELK 3 |
VIR 8 |
COT 7 |
PET 6 |
9th | 267 | [27] |
| Source:[23] | ||||||||||||||||||
(key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest lap. * – Most laps led. ^ – Most positions gained)
* Season still in progress.
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