Thomas Luthi, A MotoGP disaster

2020 is the thirteenth season that the Swiss rider will contest the middleweight class

The 2005 125cc champion has spent the vast majority of his career in the middleweight class, spending 3 seasons on a 250cc before the Moto2 class was created, he has ridden every Moto2 season so far aside from 2018.

In 2018, the Swiss rider made the move to the MotoGP class with the Marc VDS team, a move which was long overdue following two seasons where he was the Moto2 runner up.

In short, the move was a disaster. The teams machinery was uncompetitive and Luthi often found himself running around at the back of the grid, out of the points. He ended the season with a best placed result of 16th place which he achieved five times across the season.

This meant that despite winning 11 Moto2 races, the rider failed to secure a single point all season long. Completely ruining the confidence of the rider.

The teams issues between team owner Marc van der Straten and team boss Michael Bartholemy caused major issues for Luthi, the MotoGP team fell apart and withdrew from the class, leaving the Moto2 veteran without a ride at the end of the season. He was briefly linked to the Avintia ride of Xavier Simeon but this fell through.

“It’s a mental sport and a team sport. I think this is the biggest difference. Last year it was very difficult because the team was falling apart, and anyway it was a big challenge for me with the bike in MotoGP. Finally it was an impossible mission.” Stated Luthi following his Moto2 return with IntactGP.

Thomas returned to Moto2 for 2019 with a podium on his return, he won his first race just two races later. Over the season the Swiss rider took a total of eight podiums and finished in the top 10 for every race he finished.

Featured image – www.motogp.com