- Lucas Luhr
Le Mans drivers
Name = Lucas Luhr
Caption =
Nationality = flagicon|GermanyGermany
Years = 2000, 2002 - 2003, 2007 -
Team(s) = Dick Barbour Racing,The Racer's Group ,Alex Job Racing , Audi Sport Team Joest
Best Finish = 4th (24hLM|2008)
Class Wins = 2 (24hLM|2002, 24hLM|2003)Lucas Luhr (born
July 22 ,1979 , inMülheim-Kärlich ) is a Germanrace car driver, currently racing in theAmerican Le Mans Series for theAudi factory team.Early career
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
World Karting Championship . In 1995 he moved to theJolly 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 theGerman Formula Three Championship in 1997 and 1998, winning the 1998 season opening round at theHockenheimring .Porsche factory career
Luhr became a
Porsche factory driver for the 1999 season. He won the 1999Porsche Supercup championship driving for the UPS Junior Team. In 2000, he moved to theAmerican Le Mans Series , driving aPorsche 911 GT3 -R forDick Barbour Racing and partnering withDirk Müller . He collected class wins in the12 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 forWhite Lightning Racing . In the ALMS, he partnered withSascha Maassen atAlex Job Racing , again in a 911. The duo won the12 Hours of Sebring , but had a disappointing season as theBMW M3 GTR s 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 withKevin Buckler andTimo Bernhard forThe 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 byEmanuelle 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 forFriesinger 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 the12 Hours of Sebring and theSpa 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 withRomain Dumas and take two more victories to end as vice-champion with Maassen. Luhr also won the24 Hours Nurburgring overall, driving withTimo Bernhard ,Marcel Tiemann , andMike Rockenfeller .Audi career
For 2007, Luhr became a factory
Audi driver. Luhr raced in theDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, driving an Audi A4 DTM for Audi Sport Team Rosberg. He participated in the24 Hours of Le Mans , driving the LMP1 class R10 TDI.Now he is driving in American Le Mans Series With Marco Werner in Audi R10.Top Speed
Lucas Luhr was featured, along with
Marion Jones andMarla Streb , in the large format film, Top Speed, hosted byTim Allen . Lucas' appearance in the film focuses on his chamionships in the24 Hours of Le Mans while he was driving forPorsche . The film was produced byMacGillivray Freeman Films Accolades
*
American Le Mans Series LMP2 class champion: 2006
*American Le Mans Series GT class champion: 2000, 2002, 2003
*FIA GT N-GT class champion: 2004
*24 Hours of Le Mans GT class winner: 2000, 2002, 2003
*12 Hours of Sebring GT/GT2 class winner: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
*24 Hours Nurburgring overall winner: 2006
*Spa 24 Hours GT2 class winner: 2005
*Petit Le Mans GT class winner: 2002
*24 Hours of Daytona GT class winner: 2001
*Porsche Supercup champion: 1999External links
* [http://www.lucas-luhr.com/index.php?lang=en_GB Official website]
* [http://www.fourtitude.com/news/publish/Motorsport_News/printer_2996.shtml Fourtitude Magazine profile]
* [http://www.topspeedfilm.com Top Speed Official Website]
* [http://www.macfreefilms.com MacGillivray Freeman Official Website]
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