The Manthey Racing LMGT3 title-winning #92 crew reflect on a stellar season

Finishing on the podium in six of the eight races, taking two victories and clinching the first ever LMGT3 title in the FIA World Endurance Championship: 2024 was a dream season for Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin and Joel Sturm, the drivers of the Manthey PureRxcing #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The trio kicked off the year with a victory in the opening round in Qatar, lining up second before claiming a dominant win in the class’s first ever race.

They went on to score podiums in the following two races at Imola and Spa, finishing third and second respectively, though both looked set to be wins at several stages in the races.

Despite facing issues at Le Mans, they bounced back in Brazil to claim victory, marking an important milestone in their championship campaign as they regained the lead in the standings, before another hard-fought second-place finish.

They sealed the title with one round remaining at Fuji Speedway, crossing the line in second to claim the crown. Not only did the #92 car secure the title, but the sister #91 Manthey EMA car finished second in the standings for a stellar 1-2 for the team.

Speaking ahead of the season finale in Bahrain, Bachler said it was a “fantastic season.”

“We won the championship with one round to go,” he said. “Out of seven races until now, we had six podiums, two victories. So definitely a season we were dreaming of before and I’m proud and happy that we achieved our aim and won the championship.

“It’s something I was dreaming of since I was a child, to win an official FIA championship, so I’m very happy and proud of the whole team.”

This year was the three drivers’ second season working together, having raced the Herberth Motorsport Pure Rxcing #911 entry together in last year’s GT World Challenge Europe, while Malykhin and Sturm were also team-mates in the Asian Le Mans Series.

It also marked Manthey’s return to the WEC under its own name, rejoining as the sole Porsche GT entry, though it had supported the Porsche GTE efforts from 2016 to 2023. The team won the WEC’s GT class in its last season as Manthey in 2015, adding pressure to this year’s campaign.

Malykhin explains: “It was a lot of pressure in the beginning of the season for us, because we knew we had a chance to win. We had a good driver line-up and Manthey is a professional team, it’s a very good combination for success.

“In the middle of the season we had some issues and it was a big test for us, and we managed it. We kept a lot of points in front of the other guys and in the second half of the season it was like another mood, to be even more smart and bring more points each race and we’re happy we have so many podiums in the season.

“We made our life easier in Japan - the best way is to finish the job early, where it’s possible. We had this chance in Fuji, we had very good tactics, and we managed it. Now we try to get maximum enjoyment from this championship.”

As with any WEC line-up, team work is crucial to success in LMGT3, and as Sturm said: “I think the results speak for themselves!”

Bronze driver Malykhin added: “I would say we have a very good combination of drivers, because Joel can bring to our line-up some good data in the most difficult and very quick corners in the track, and it pushed me a lot to improve my lap times - not a lot of drivers can do it and Joel is one of the best that I know at this.

“I always learned from him how to drive more naturally and quicker in the corners. Klaus for sure is the most experienced driver and everybody knows that we have a good car setup weekend by weekend and this is for sure more Klaus’s job, together with engineering.

“I tried to get some space, to get confidence as quick as possible in the weekend, and give the other guys more laps to work with the car setup more. I feel like it’s my personal goal that if I’m quick earlier, I can give the other guys more laps for Joel and Klaus to improve our car for all three drivers.”

Having wrapped up such an incredible season, and with time to reflect, which race was each driver’s personal highlight?

“For me it was Le Mans, even though we didn’t win it and we had the issues, for sure the highlight was most looking forward to this race,” says Sturm. “Also Qatar, winning the first LMGT3 race. Yeah, it’s started to settle in after a couple of weeks and it feels good.”

For Bachler and Malykhin, it was the team’s return to form in Brazil, after a tricky Le Mans which saw the trio finish 10th.

“The highlight for me was São Paulo, Brazil, because after Le Mans it was hard luck for us, a hard race, and we fought back and took the championship lead again and this was a really strong performance,” says Bachler. “Yes, for me it’s already real, we won the championship and a good feeling.”

Malykhin added: “I agree with Klaus about São Paulo because it was the stage of the season after Le Mans - we lost a lot of points at Le Mans, but São Paulo felt like a really perfect, ideal weekend. I felt zero mistakes from everybody and it felt like in the key point in the season, we showed maximum performance.

“It was a new track for everybody from the team and it was even more challenging and more pressure in the most important weekend of the season. Thinking about tactics and our position in the championship, we showed a very smart job and very good job generally on each side.”


With the #92 car having claimed the title in Fuji, the #91 crew of Richard Lietz, Morris Schuring and Yasser Shahin went on to seal second place in the championship in Bahrain, completing an historic 1-2 for Manthey Racing in the WEC.

The EMA crew took two consecutive victories at Spa and the landmark 24 Hours of Le Mans, followed by a third-place finish at the Lone Star Le Mans, on its way to the runner-up spot.

Manthey Racing Division Manager, Racing, Patrick Arkenau emphasised the importance of team work to this campaign, and explained just how crucial it is to have all six drivers working together to ensure the success of the whole team.

“It just shows that real team work pays out, the hard work pays out, that keeping the team approach, also in difficult times when racing each other, always having the team spirit in mind and seeing the big picture, is in the end paying off.

“It means a lot to us, we’re very proud of this achievement to be able to secure the 1-2 in the championship and it’s really showing how important team work in racing is and that we’ve been able to maximise it this season.

“We had six drivers working together, we had five engineers working very closely together, and for sure this is our biggest route to success, that we absolutely work as a team and make sure we get everything out of the group.

“We do not focus on one car and we do not try to have only focus on one car and one idea, we always look left and right, we have a very good exchange and good ideas between the drivers and the engineers. Like I mentioned, six drivers, five engineers, working very closely together to get everything out of every individual, which is for sure a big part of our success.”

Looking back at the #92 crew’s title, he said: “It’s an amazing feeling to be the very first LMGT3 winner after competing in the WEC as the factory team for Porsche in the GT Pro ranks.

“After one year of break, coming back into the LMGT3 category under our own name, fully under our own operation, it’s an amazing feeling to have such success - you could even say we have been dominating this season and it’s an honour and absolutely an amazing feeling to be this successful in the debut season of LMGT3.”

With one hugely successful season in the books for the Manthey Racing team in the LMGT3 category, it looks forwards to another promising campaign in 2025. Can it do the double once more?