The Story Behind Porsche's Most Underrated Driver - Richard Lietz

Having just taken a second WEC championship, Richard Lietz is still riding high with Porsche, but how did his 27-year career start, and how is it still going?

There’s always pressure on a follow-up album – what if you were just a one-hit wonder? What if you can’t perform again? What if you just got lucky? It’s a treacherous tightrope to walk when you come out of the gate swinging but maybe don’t save enough for round two. So what do you do to prove the doubters wrong, to show them that you’re more than just one success?

You do it again, and again, and again for good measure.

For Richard Lietz, his debut album (a Le Mans win on debut at the age of just 23) would be just a drop in the ocean compared to what he would achieve across a 27-year career. He is one of the most decorated GT racers in history, having won every major 24 hour race in the GT category, as well as several championships. He’s also one of Porsche’s most successful drivers; Lietz has cemented himself as a GT racing specialist, winning a race in every Porsche GT car of the last two decades.

Lietz took the 2025 World Endurance Championship in the LMGT3 class

Born in Waidhofen, Austria, Lietz began karting in the late 1990s before moving into the Formula BMW ADAC Junior Championship in 2000. He enjoyed a successful single-seater career in the Austrian and German International F3 championship, taking several wins between 2001 and 2003.

He has a reputation for being an adaptable driver, and he’s tried his hand at various racing disciplines, including when he won the 2001 Austrian Rallye Championship. Lietz has a reputation for being an adaptable driver, and he’s tried his hand at various racing disciplines, including when he won the 2001 Austrian Rallye Championship.

Lietz’s entry into Porsche Carrera Cup Germany placed him firmly on Porsche’s radar. Between 2004 and 2006 he took several victories, including a 3rd place in the Porsche Supercup Championship in 2006. In this time he raced both the 996 and 997 GT3 Cup.

This success was enough to secure him a factory driver contract from Porsche for 2007. He would take the step up into endurance racing, driving the 997 GT3-RSR. The Austrian had an almighty entrance onto the world stage, taking a class victory at Le Mans and a second place at the 24 Hours of Spa, both in the GT2 class. 4 wins and a championship victory in the International GT Championship would round off his year.

His inaugural Le Mans win would be the start of a lengthy record at the Circuit de la Sarthe. He would return to take pole at Le Mans in 2008, before climbing back to the podium with his second win in 2010.

The new GTE-PRO category would be introduced in 2011, but it wouldn’t be until 2013 that Porsche would enter its new GTE challenger, the 911 RSR (991). With it came Lietz's third Le Mans win.

Lietz took second place at Le Mans in 2018 in a Rothmans-inspired Porsche 911 RSR.

He would take an historic second place in 2018, completing a 1-2 finish for Porsche on the brand’s 70th anniversary. His 911 RSR sported a heritage livery which paid homage to the Rothmans-sponsored Porsche 956 and 962 Group C cars. His final Le Mans win in the GTE era came in 2022, in the final year of the GTE-PRO category. He would return to the track to support Michael Fassbender’s second assault on the circuit in 2023, before making a shock return to the WEC in its new LMGT3 category.

Racing with Manthey in the new Porsche 911 GT3 R (992), Lietz has taken back-to-back Le Mans wins in the last two years. Across his 19 Le Mans starts, Lietz has become the most decorated GT driver ever to race at Le Mans, and one of only seven people in the race’s history to take 6 or more wins in any category.

His skill in endurance racing has been tested all over the world, especially at the historic 24 hour races of Spa-Francorchamps and Nürburgring.

In a diversion from his regular GT racing programme in 2011, the Porsche stalwart would be trusted to drive the prototype Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The squad won their E1-XP Hybrid class, taking 27th position overall.

In 2018, he would finally take overall honours on the Nordschleife, behind the wheel of Manthey Racing’s ‘Grello’ 911. An overall win at the Spa 24 Hours would follow the year after.

Lietz won the a very wet edition of Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2018.

Lietz’s triumphs extend beyond European racing; he’s also taken victories in the North American IMSA series. He would make his debut stateside in 2008 at the Daytona 24 Hours in a GT3 Cup car. The Austrian ace would return several times, taking two class victories in 2012 and 2014.

He took a second place in the Sebring 12 Hours in 2011, and an incredible overall victory at a very wet Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in 2015. Porsche’s Michelin tires gave such an advantage in the rain that teammate Nick Tandy was able to overtake the faster prototype machines and take the overall lead. When the race was stopped prematurely due to the conditions, it was their GTLM car which would be handed the victory.

Lietz took second place at the Sebring 12 Hours in 2011 and an overall victory at Petit Le Mans in 2015.

While he may have a mantlepiece full of silverware from endurance racing’s most challenging events, his consistent results have also netted him some championship trophies. After a stunning debut year in the International GT Championship, Lietz would take back-to-back Le Mans Series titles in 2009 and 2010.

The introduction of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2012 saw the Austrian mount an offensive to take the title, taking victories in every season until, in 2015, he would be crowned World Champion in the GTE-PRO category. Since then, he narrowly missed out on the championship in 2017 and 2024. Alongside his record-breaking Le Mans win, Lietz finally took his second championship in Bahrain in 2025.

Lietz spent four years as a tutor and teammate for Hollywood star Michael Fassbender.

Alongside his lengthy racing career, Lietz was also called on by Porsche to guide Hollywood star Michael Fassbender in the 'Road to Le Mans' docuseries. The Irish-German actor undertook a five-year racing programme to develop his driving skill and eventually race in the Le Mans 24 hours. Lietz would join him in 3 seasons of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS), acting as both an instructor and the Platinum rated driver in Fassbender’s 911 RSR-19. The pair would eventually take on Le Mans together in 2023.

With the end of the GTE era coming in the same year, Lietz believed that his time as a full-time Porsche driver was coming to an end as up-and-coming talents began to take spots on WEC’s new LMGT3 grid. However, at the end of the 2023 season he would be contacted by several of his old team members at Manthey racing - a team he first raced with in 2013 - asking him to join its WEC lineup for the 2024 season. Caught somewhat by surprise, Lietz has spent the last two WEC seasons racing for Manthey, taking back-to-back Le Mans wins and another WEC Championship.

While Richard Lietz’s career may be closer to the end than the beginning, he still shows remarkable pace and consistency. In just the past three months, he's taken the WEC LMGT3 crown and a class win at the Suzuka 1000KM. With an evident love of cars and motorsports of all disciplines, varying from rallying to outings at Le Mans Classic, we could see him behind the wheel for many years to come.

Photo Credit: Porsche Newsroom

This article was originally published on The Sportscar Database's social media.