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The separation between the Liqui-Moly-IntactGP team and Tom Lüthi has not been entirely silent for two years. And it came from the team and three owners Stefan Keckeisen, Wolfgang Kuhn and Jürgen Lingg, who leads the Moto2 racing team as team principal and is also responsible for technology as technical director. That’s a finding from SPEEDWEEK.com’s extensive research.
After finishing fifth at the Styrian GP on August 23, Tom Lüthi continued to assume that the collaboration would continue, he was fighting for continuity. But Lüthi’s coach Epp has obviously exhausted the team owners’ patience with his criticism of team boss Michael Thier, so the contract was not extended, as it came to light yesterday on Jürgen Lingg’s 54th birthday. .
Lingg doesn’t say anything about the former Kalex manager. “Many Moto2 teams know Michael from his Kalex days and they know what he can do. This is a smart guy. By the way, during Tom’s time he was responsible and involved in supporting Kalex with crew chief Gilles Bigot on the Swiss CGBM team in Tom’s box. Furthermore, Tom was only 12 points behind the world champion in the first year with Michi at the World Cup. He’s never been this close in ten years of Moto2. That says it all, ”emphasizes Lingg, who sticks to the facts and doesn’t want to do the laundry. Because there are still seven races and seven GP weekends to dominate together. Michi knows what she’s doing. He did not deserve this criticism, “added the Swabian, who gained a lot of experience at Kiefer Racing, Racing Team Germany and Ajo Motorsport, three weeks ago.
The fact is, Dani Epp has led his protégé’s career to a dead end. Because the forced switch from Lüthi to SAG is not an improvement, because SAG boss Edu Perales is constantly struggling with budget problems. Lüthi has to contribute money, something that no other Moto2 rider achieves with his successes. But the other top teams like Marc VDS, Pons, Gresini, Italtrans and Red Bull Ajo were already busy when IntactGP rejected the contract extension with the 34-year-old Swiss.
Tom Lüthi was considered third in the World Championship and due to the MotoGP promotions of Alex Márquez and Brad Binder as the favorite for the 2020 Moto2 World Championship. But after ninth place in Misano II, he is now only ninth, 77 points behind leader Luca Marini. Lowest point: starting place 26 in Brno.
Sure, IntactGP is not a perfect team either. But who pays the orders and does not like to be dictated. In any case, the team accuses Lüthi and Epp of lack of self-criticism. Because for a third place in the World Cup, even with an imperfect set-up, there should be more than one 26th place from the start.
What went wrong after the Jerez test?
A team wins and loses together. Tom Lüthi dominated the February test at Jerez 2020, but couldn’t find a suitable set-up for him on the low-grip track in Qatar. There were drops, loss of self-confidence and much uncertainty during Corona’s career break until mid-July. Then the misery continued after the restart in Jerez.
Attentive observers recall: Even in the 2018 MotoGP season, Lüthi lost all self-confidence after a pleasant start to the season in Qatar after numerous crashes, he remained pointless in the World Championship for the entire year, fellow Youngest team Franco Morbidelli scored 50 (!) Points as a newcomer. Tom Lüthi had already gained some MotoGP experience as a KTM test rider.
Perhaps it was a mistake at the time that Lüthi envisioned Frenchman Bigot as MotoGP crew chief, whom he brought with him from Moto2, but who had not worked in the premier class for almost 20 years.
Long-term success requires much more than talent and the ability to ride a motorcycle quickly. It also requires a confident instinct and foresight, sometimes a bit of deception, calculation, and a calculating approach.
Tom is a passionate and talented racing driver who is very popular. With a world title, two second places in 2016 and 2017 and 17 GP victories, he can boast considerable success. But at a young age he didn’t want to worry about aspects other than racing, Daniel Epp took everything for him.
Not much seems to have changed about that to this day.
Lüthi participated in the 125cc World Championship in 2002 at the age of 15, and won it in 2005 at the age of 18 as an original Honda rider against the overwhelming official KTM team with Kallio, Talmacsi and Simón. His talent is indisputable, but at times the popular circuit veteran lacks the coolness, assertiveness and grief strength of Brad Binder and the joy of young stars like Luca Marini, Enea Bastianini or Jorge Martin.
It remains to be seen if the goal of winning the Moto2 World Championship is actually easier with the SAG team than with Intact.
There is currently no winner in this dispute. Because Tom Lüthi leaves one of the best teams in the paddock, and Intact loses a potential world champion and replaces him with rookie Tony Arbolino.
Moto2 World Championship stand after 8 out of 15 races
1. Marini 125 Points. 2. Bastianini 120. 3. Bezzecchi 105. 4. Lowes 83. 5. Martin 79. 6. Nagashima 68. 8. Vierge 59. 9. Lüthi 52. 10. Schrötter 48.
