Valentin Kluss (alternatively spelt Kluß, born 25 May 2007) is a German racing driver who last competed in the Eurocup-3 series for Campos Racing. He previously competed in the 2023 Italian F4 Championship with PHM Racing.

Career

Karting Having been bought a kart by his father after completing the challenge of beating the laptime record at his local track by over a second, Kluss started competing in regional competitions at the age of six. After winning the Kart-Cup of his local federal state Baden-Württemberg in 2017, alongside the ACV Kart Nationals during the same year, Kluss progressed into national competitions, taking third in the Rotax Max Challenge Germany in 2018. He would spend the following three years in the junior category, where he won the Rotax Max Challenge in 2020, securing the title with five races to go, and the ADAC Kart Masters in 2021, both in the junior class. Kluss also took part in European series from 2019 onwards, managing to finish third in the Rotax Euro Trophy, as well as competing in the 2021 Karting World Championship with RS Competition.

Formula 4 2022

Having completed tests in Formula 4 with Teo Martín Motorsport at Aragón and at the Hockenheimring with Mücke Motorsport, Kluss progressed into single-seater racing in 2022 thanks to PHM Racing, a newly-founded non-profit racing organization. Having been introduced into the newly formed Motorsport Team Germany, Kluss competed with PHM in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship, whilst being loaned out to Jenzer Motorsport in the Italian F4 Championship. Due to his age, he would only make his debut in the second round of the latter series, where he immediately scored his maiden point in the rookies' championship. In the German Championship, Kluss scored points on debut at Zandvoort, although two collisions would lead to a pair of retirements the following day. More points would follow at the Nürburgring, before Kluss took his first ever podium in single-seaters during a rain-affected Race 3 at the Lausitzring, beating Rasmus Joutsimies by three thousandths of a second across the finish line.

Kluss was nominated by the German Motor Sport Federation as their Formula 4 representative for the FIA Motorsport Games held at the end of the year. He went on to finish sixth in the FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup.

2023 In 2023, Kluss remained with PHM Racing to compete in the Formula 4 UAE Championship and the Italian F4 Championship. He finished the season tenth in the UAE championship and fifteenth in the Italian championship. In 2023 Kluss also joined MP Motorsport to compete in the Estoril round of the F4 Spanish Championship.

Formula Regional In October 2023, Kluss also joined Monolite Racing to compete in the final round of the Formula Regional European Championship at the Hockenheimring.

Eurocup-3 2024

In 2024, Kluss joined Campos Racing for a full-time step up to the Formula Regional-level Eurocup-3 series. He had a slow start to the season, but managed to earn his first pole and podiums in Portimão with second and third. Kluss also took another third place during the second race in Zandvoort. After that, he scored in every race until the end of the season, meaning that Kluss finished sixth in the standings with 121 points, securing three podiums.

2026 Kluss made a one-off return in Eurocup-3 in 2026 with TC Racing during the Silverstone round.

Karting record

Karting career summary SeasonSeriesTeamPosition2015Baden-Württemberg Kart-Cup — Rotax MicroNees Racing6th2016Baden-Württemberg Kart-Cup — Rotax MicroNees Racing2ndRotax Max Challenge Germany — Rotax Micro11th2017Baden-Württemberg Kart-Cup — Rotax MicroNees Racing1stACV Kart Nationals — Rotax Micro1stRotax Max Challenge Germany — Rotax Micro6th2018Rotax Max Challenge Germany — Rotax MiniNees Racing3rdRotax Max Challenge Clubsport — Mini8th2019BNL Karting Series — Junior MaxRS Competition31stRotax Max Challenge Germany — Junior10thRotax Max Challenge Euro Trophy — Junior25thRotax Max Challenge International Trophy — JuniorNCRotax Max Challenge Clubsport — Junior National2nd2020BNL Karting Series - Kick-Off — Junior MaxRS Competition17thRotax Max Euro Winter Cup — Junior25thADAC Kart Masters — OKJNCRotax Max Challenge Germany — Junior1stRotax Max Challenge Euro Trophy — Junior3rdRotax Max Challenge International Trophy — Junior13thRotax Max Challenge Clubsport — Junior National2ndDeutsche Kart Meisterschaft — OKJNC†2021WSK Champions Cup — OKJRS CompetitionNCWSK Super Master Series — OKJNC†Deutsche Kart Meisterschaft — OKJ8thADAC Kart Masters — OKJKSM Official Racing Team1stCIK-FIA World Championship — OKJRS Competition58thSources: † As Kluss was a guest driver, he was ineligible to be classified in the standings.

Complete Karting World Championship results YearTeamCarQuali HeatsMain race2021 RS CompetitionOKJ58thDNQ

Racing record

Racing career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position2022Italian F4 ChampionshipJenzer Motorsport17 0 0 0 0 4 21stADAC Formula 4 ChampionshipPHM Racing 12 0 0 0 1 61 11th FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup Team Germany 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 6th 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship PHM Racing 15 0 0 0 0 50 10th Italian F4 Championship 15 0 0 0 0 34 15th F4 Spanish Championship MP Motorsport 3 0 0 0 0 8 16th Formula Regional European Championship Monolite Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC† 2024 Eurocup-3 Campos Racing 16 0 1 1 3 121 6th2026GT4 Winter SeriesNM Racing TeamEurocup-3TC Racing 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD* * Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points 2022 Jenzer MotorsportIMO1IMO2IMO3MIS1MIS2MIS3SPA1SPA2SPA3VLL1VLL2VLL3RBR1RBR2RBR3RBR4MNZ1MNZ2MNZ3MUG1MUG2MUG3 21st 4 2023 PHM RacingIMO1IMO2IMO3IMO4MIS1MIS2MIS3SPA1SPA2SPA3MNZ1MNZ2MNZ3LEC1LEC2LEC3MUG1MUG2MUG3VLL1VLL2VLL3 15th 34 * Season still in progress.

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 2022 PHM RacingSPA1SPA2SPA3HOC1HOC2HOC3ZAN1ZAN2ZAN3NÜR11NÜR12NÜR13LAU1LAU2LAU3NÜR21NÜR22NÜR23 11th 61

Complete FIA Motorsport Games results Year Team Cup Qualifying Quali Race Main race 2022 Team GermanyFormula 43rd20th6th

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points 2023 PHM RacingDUB11DUB12DUB13KMT11KMT12KMT13KMT21KMT22KMT23DUB21DUB22DUB23YMC1YMC2YMC3 10th 50

Complete F4 Spanish Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points 2023 MP MotorsportSPA1SPA2SPA3ARA1ARA2ARA3NAV1NAV2NAV3JER1JER2JER3EST1EST2EST3CRT1CRT2CRT3CAT1CAT2CAT3 16th 8

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2023 Monolite Racing IMO1 IMO2 CAT1 CAT2 HUN1 HUN2 SPA1 SPA2 MUG1 MUG2 LEC1 LEC2 RBR1 RBR2 MNZ1 MNZ2 ZAN1 ZAN2 HOC1 HOC2 NC† 0 † As Kluss was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score point.

Complete Eurocup-3 results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 DC Points 2024 Campos RacingSPA1SPA2RBR1RBR2POR1POR2POR3LEC1LEC2ZAN1ZAN2ARA1ARA2JER1JER2CAT1CAT2 6th 119 2026 LEC1LECSRLEC2POR1POR2IMO1IMOSRIMO2MNZ1MNZ2SIL1SILSRSIL2JER1JER2HUN1HUN2CAT1CAT2 TBD* TBD* Season still in progress.

References

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