Just a fortnight after his serious accident during practice in Brno, Thomas Luthi (Garage Plus Interwetten) scored an amazing win on Sunday at the Octo British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Tenth on the starting grid, Luthi was immediately up there with the leading group. On the sixth lap he increased his pace, taking the lead two laps later with a move on the reigning world champion and World Championship leader Johann Zarco.
The Swiss rider then produced a string of excellent laps and when he was clear of the threat behind him he built an advantage of one second over his rivals, which he was able to maintain until the end.
With Sam Lowes and Zarco clashing behind him Luthi took full advantage to score his 12th Grand Prix victory.
Thomas Luthi: “This is a very special moment for me after the last two weeks. I couldn't train normally following a serious concussion in Brno and going to Silverstone I really did not know if I would be able to finish the race. As the practice was disrupted by rain, we were not able to do enough laps in dry conditions and I think that no one was very confident at the start.
“I found a good rhythm quickly and I realised that I was a bit faster than the others. I got into the lead and was able to defend it. About the accident between Johann and Sam I saw it on the big screen but I did not know that they were so close.”
Yeeeessss P1. Thanks to all the people who helped me to come back strong. pic.twitter.com/ngY0dKsoLw
— Tom Lüthi (@ThomasLUTHI) 4 septembre 2016