At the end of this year, Ralph-Gerald Schlüter will take over the function as Chief Representative of the VLN e.V. & Co. oHG. The vita of the 65 years old includes long and successful activities as businessman. Nonetheless, he never forgot his secret and great love, which has always been motorsport. Whether as driver or in the field of organisation – Schlüter has lots of practical experience.
Schlüter was born in Zwickau, Saxony, and he has three daughters. He has a degree in business administration and, after having finished his university studies, first of all worked as Human Resources Manager and Assistant of the Managing Director of a hospital. Later on, he became Consultant to hospitals, amongst others in matters of organisation and human resources. In the course of his professional career, he became partner, shareholder and managing director of the hospital consulting company Jüngerkes & Schlüter GmbH.
Schlüter discovered his passion for motorsport at the age of 16. He was an enthusiastic spectator before he himself participated in motorsport events after joining the Rheydter Club für Motorsport in 1976. It was in the same year that he competed in his first race at the Nordschleife with a Simca Rallye 2. One year later, he became member of the organising committee of the RCM Grenzlandrennen which is still to date one of the VLN traditional events.
Since his beginnings in the late seventieth, Schlüter participated on a regular basis in races, using Fiat 128 Coupé, Peugeot 205 GTI, Porsche 911, BMW 325 and Volkswagen Polo race cars. He completed his last full VLN season in 2011 with a Renault Clio RS. Thereafter, he competed now and then in VLN races with a Z4 M Coupé or and Opel OPC until 2016. In addition to modern motorsport, his heart is also beating for classic cars. Between 2012 and 2016, he achieved several top-three results and took class wins with an Alfa Romeo GT Am in the FHR endurance cup. In 2014, Schlüter won the DMV Racing Championship and he became DMV state group winner in racing. In the same year, he started as speaker of the VLN oHG Board and has been member of the DMSB Racing Commission since 2017.
