Will Manthey, which is majority-owned by Porsche, be treated better than the other customer teams? The team boss of the Porsche team Allied Racing doubts rumors
Are the Porsche customer teams at a disadvantage against Manthey EMA in the DTM? Team Bernhard and Toksport WRT saw no chance against the championship-winning team from Meuspath, which is 51 per cent owned by Porsche, in 2023. To avoid this situation, the ex-Porsche team SSR Performance switched to Lamborghini ahead of the season
There are also numerous rumors that Manthey EMA is being politically favored by Porsche. One person who does not believe this is Allied team boss Jan Kasperlik. “I have to speak up for Porsche because I believe they are neutral and treat all teams equally,”
Allied Racing is known as a Porsche team from the ADAC GT Masters and GT4 Germany, and they also recently made efforts to enter the DTM with Aston Martin. However, the Bavarian team has decided to continue with Porsche in the coming years.
“As a Porsche team, you have a very strong opponent in Manthey “
Kasperlik is convinced that Porsche supports its customer teams “regularly and cleanly”. So why was Manthey EMA still superior and scoring twice as many points as Team Bernhard?
“You have to be aware as a team: If you start with a Porsche, then you have a financially powerful opponent in Manthey, who also has the right infrastructure and is perfectly positioned,” says Kasperlik. “The fact that the team is so strong has to do with the works entries in the WEC in the past. But they are certainly not playing unfairly.”
If the team has “the same financial resources”, “the infrastructure, the processes and the personnel are right and you do your homework as a team with the appropriate passion, then Manthey is also beatable,” he is certain.
Will Manthey receive better financial support?
According to the Allied team boss, the fact that Manthey can draw on the full financial resources – budgets of two million euros per car are rumored in the scene – has nothing to do with better support from the manufacturer.
“Of course they take the Porsche money, but they are not so dependent on it,” he believes. “They are a broad-based company with around 250 employees that has several sources of income and mainstays. And if Manthey wins in the DTM, they will sell more engineering services to customer racing teams again. ”
This is the effect of the excellent Manthey budget
In addition to its operations, Manthey has a carbon workshop and test benches, runs one-make cups for Porsche and prepares production cars for the racetrack. The money generated in these areas also has a positive effect on the racing budget.
For example, when it comes to deciding whether to use a new spare part or repair a damaged splitter. “Every splitter that is at minimum dimensions works better than a splitter that has been repaired x times,” explains Kasperlik. “When the budget is used up, you start repairing and laminating parts. It’s the same aerodynamically, but not in terms of weight. ”
And then there is the head start in experience with the new 911 GT3 R (992), which was developed by Manthey in 2021 and 2022 and first raced in 2023. “You need about a year of preparation time to catch up,” says Kasperlik.
But would he and his team compete in a series in which Manthey also uses the Porsche? “If we had the financial resources in the company and a year of preparation time, then I could imagine that we would be able to compete with Manthey,” he says.
“I would be up for it – also because I know that Porsche serves its customer teams equally and does everything it can to ensure that every team has the same conditions from a Porsche perspective. I am also convinced of this through my own experience with Porsche. “
