• On April 21, 2025, former racing driver and entrepreneur Olaf Manthey turns 70
• As a racing driver, he left his mark on numerous series, including the Ford Sports Cup, the German Production Car Championship (DPM) and the Porsche Carrera Cup

• As founder and team principal of Manthey Racing, he led the team to further success, including four consecutive championship wins in the Porsche Supercup and overall victories at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring

Meuspath. Manthey congratulates its founder Olaf Manthey on his 70th birthday. The Bonn-native has shaped motorsport like few others. With initially modest means, a lot of passion, and exceptional talent, he worked his way to the top. As a driver, Manthey became known in various series, including the Ford Sportpokal, the DPM, and the Porsche Carrera Cup, where he secured numerous wins and titles. As an entrepreneur, he led Manthey Racing to become a major player in international motorsport and beyond in the automotive industry. On April 21, 2025, Olaf Manthey turns 70 – an occasion to look back at seven milestones in his impressive career.

Olaf Manthey was born in Bonn in 1955. After attending secondary school in Remagen, he completed an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer and also worked as an excavator driver. Ever since he was a child watching Formula 1 races with his father at the Nürburgring, Manthey dreamed of becoming a racing driver himself. At the age of 18, he then obtained his racing license. In 1982, he married his wife Renate, who has supported him not only as a wife and mother of their two children but also from the early races through to the founding of Manthey Racing in 1996, and continues to do so to this day. What began as a small racing team with three full-time employees has grown into a company with over 350 employees, operating in five business divisions worldwide – Racing, Performance, Engineering, Services, and Experiences.

“Olaf is turning 70. With his clear vision and passion, he founded Manthey and laid the foundation for where we are today. Although much has changed since then, we have managed to continue the values and mindset that Olaf has always exemplified. It is a pleasure to see how proud he is of what the company has become and that he still supports us in important strategic decisions and race efforts,” explains Nicolas Raeder, managing director of Manthey Racing GmbH. “Olaf has set standards with his spirit of innovation and experience. You can ask him anything, and as a well-known and respected figure, he is well connected in motorsport and beyond. Olaf's openness to new, sometimes unconventional ideas has been and continues to be a key to his success and the success of Manthey. We wholeheartedly congratulate him on his 70th birthday,” adds Martin Raeder, managing director of Manthey Racing GmbH.

Seven milestones for 70 years of Olaf Manthey 

First championship title in touring car debut
Olaf Manthey started his motorsport career in the mid-1970s in hill climb racing and drove Formula cars for a year before finding his place in touring car racing. In 1982, with the Ford Escort RS 2000, a car with a two-litre engine, 186 hp, and four gears, he competed in the Ford Sportpokal for the first time and won the championship in his debut. The following year, Manthey successfully defended his title and secured another victory.

How a works contract secured Olaf Manthey's future
In 1984, Olaf Manthey entered the German Production Car Championship (DPM), the precursor to today’s DTM. His works driver contract with Austin Rover saved him from the premature end of his motorsport career, into which the full-time mechanical engineer had invested all his savings. In his two years in the series, Manthey finished second in the championship both times for the British car manufacturer.

The birth of a Porsche passion
In 1990, Olaf Manthey probably didn’t think that his name would one day be inseparably linked to Porsche. Initially, it was the tempting prize money that motivated him to enter the new Porsche Carrera Cup. However, the first laps in the Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Cup (Type 964) were anything but easy. As a driver who often took corners sideways, Manthey struggled to adapt to the handling of the rear-engine Porsche. But adjusting his driving style would pay off: Olaf Manthey finished the season as the first ever champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup.

Founding Manthey Racing
Olaf Manthey had been building his own racing cars for a long time, but it wasn't until 1996 that he founded his own racing team, Manthey Racing. Prior to that, he had been the technical director at Persson Motorsport (Mercedes) in the DTM, but the team withdrew from the series. This turn of events would prove beneficial, as Manthey and Dutch driver Patrick Huisman celebrated a remarkable success with the newly founded team: four consecutive victories in the driver and team championship of the Porsche Supercup – a series that remains unbeaten to this day and laid the foundation for the impressive success story that Manthey would write not only in motorsport but also in the entire automotive industry.

A final race like a fairytale
After hundreds of starts, the DMV 250-mile race at Nürburgring in 2005 would be Olaf Manthey's last race as a professional racing driver. Together with Timo Bernhard, he piloted the Porsche 911 GT3 MR, and the duo finished the race after four hours with a 5:36-minute lead. For Olaf Manthey, this victory was his 30th overall win in the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring (VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring, now NLS), making him the most successful driver in the series. The stylish farewell of the team principal from active racing was celebrated by Timo Bernhard lifting him on the podium. However, Olaf Manthey couldn’t completely retire from the driver's seat: He remains active in historic motorsport to this day.

The yellow-green dream
In 2006 and on his 25th attempt, Olaf Manthey was finally able to achieve what he hadn’t managed during his previous participations as a driver and team manager: winning the 24-hour race at Nürburgring. The car of choice was a yellow-green Porsche 911 GT3-MR, which was originally supposed to be painted entirely bright yellow to ensure it wasn't overlooked in the dense field of cars – a suggestion by Olaf Manthey, though it met with resistance from his staff and wife Renate. The compromise: yellow-green, the predecessor of the now legendary "Grello." With “dem Dicken” (“the fat one”), a 911 GT3 RSR in the same design, the team also won the 24-hour race in 2007, 2008, and 2009. After this series of successes, three more wins followed, the latest in 2021 – a record that remains unbeaten to this day.

A new chapter for Manthey
2013 marked a significant step in the history of Manthey Racing GmbH: The merger with Raeder Motorsport and the entry of Porsche AG with a 51% stake paved the way for a promising future. As part of this, brothers Martin and Nicolas Raeder took over the management of the company. Two years later, Olaf Manthey stepped down from active business but remains closely connected to the company. To this day, he still provides advisory support for important strategic decisions and race efforts, such as in the DTM in 2023 and 2024.

We congratulate Olaf on his 70th birthday and thank him for his tireless dedication, which has brought Manthey to the success and recognition it enjoys today. We wish him good health and look forward to many more years together.