If the title of ‘Mister 24h Race’ had not already gone to long-time race and organisation manager Peter Geishecker, Olaf Manthey would certainly be among the shortlist of candidates for the award. The founder of the company named after him celebrated his 70th birthday a few weeks ago. Even though he has now passed on his life’s work to younger hands, his name has long since become a brand: Today, Manthey not only stands for an extremely successful racing team, but also for high-performance versions of Porsche road cars. This milestone birthday is a fitting occasion to look back on the eventful life of this motorsport icon, who has also played a key role in shaping the sport on the Nordschleife and the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring.
The Nordschleife as part of life
Born in Bonn in 1955, Olaf Manthey obtained his racing licence at the age of 18. After starting out in hill climb racing and with formula racing cars, he quickly found his calling in touring car racing. It suited the fast-paced driving style of the – then – ‘young savage’ best. The ‘Green Hell’ captivated him from the very beginning. ‘I drove on the Nordschleife myself back in the 70s,’ says Manthey. ‘Whenever possible, I was at the track.’
In 1990, Manthey moved up to the newly created Porsche Carrera Cup. Despite initial difficulties, he was crowned the series’ first champion. This experience sparked his deep passion for Porsche. Although he had been working on racing cars himself for a long time, it was not until 1996 that he founded his own team: Manthey. Soon afterwards, the team celebrated four consecutive titles in the Porsche Supercup – a record that remains unbeaten to this day and a cornerstone of Manthey’s impressive success story. Manthey is in favour of whether such a success story would be possible again today: ‘Of course, modern motorsport has changed a lot, but I still think it is possible to have such a career path today.’
24h Nürburgring record winner
In 2006, after 25 attempts, Olaf Manthey finally achieved the long-awaited victory at the 24h Nürburgring. The winning car back then: a yellow-green Porsche 911 GT3-MR – the forerunner of the legendary ‘Grello’ design. ‘You used to adapt a few things and then you could race on the Nordschleife,’ recalls Manthey. “The more modern vehicles have made that much more difficult – with all the electronics and ECU networking. It’s no longer so easy to turn a road car into a motorsport-capable vehicle for the Nordschleife in a short space of time.” The team also won with the ‘fat one’, a 911 GT3 RSR in the same design, in 2007, 2008 and 2009, followed by three more victories, most recently in 2021 – an unrivalled record in the ‘Green Hell’.
Even as team principal, Manthey continued to get behind the wheel himself, especially in endurance races at the Nürburgring. Between 1992 and 1995, he took 22 overall victories in the VLN in the Mercedes 190 Evo II. His 30th overall victory, which he celebrated in 2005 in his farewell race with Timo Bernhard, was an emotional highlight and makes him the most successful driver in the series to this day. Even though he has retired from active racing, Olaf Manthey remains active in historic motorsport.
Young successors at heart the same
In order to carry the Manthey name, which had become a brand, into the future, the founder found like-minded successors in the two Raeder brothers. “They have the same mindset as I do: don’t make big speeches, but shine through results. They both do an excellent job,” enthuses the former team boss. ‘I’ve been advising them for a long time, but they’ve been able to run on their own for many years.’
The transformation has also led to changes at Manthey. This also affects its presence in endurance racing: ‘Of course, we are no longer represented quite as often as in previous decades, because the requirements in our company have also changed over the years, and unfortunately we can’t always dance at many different weddings at the same time,’ says Manthey, who is certain: ‘But in the end, the Nordschleife belongs to Manthey and nobody can get us away from the Nordschleife.’