Maro Engel (born 27 August 1985) is a German professional racing driver based in Monaco. He is a Mercedes-AMG factory driver since 2008 & brand ambassador since 2017.
He is a FIA GT World Cup Champion (2015, 2024), Nürburgring 24 hour winner (2016), two time Daytona 24h winner in GTD & GTD Pro (2021, 2023), three time Macau Grand Prix GT Cup winner (2014, 2015, 2022), Petit Le Mans 10h winner in GTD PRO (2023), Suzuka 10h winner (2018), GT World Challenge Endurance Cup Champion (2018 - formerly Blancpain Endurance Series) and DTM race winner.
He is currently racing in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in DTM, GT World Challenge Europe, IMSA, Intercontinental GT Challenge, FIA GT World Cup. Over his career he has raced in a variety of different series: in the three eras of the DTM, GT World Challenge, IMSA, Intercontinental GT Challenge, FIA Formula E, V8 Supercars, F3000, and WRC.
Outside of his racing activities Engel holds the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for road-legal cars setting a lap time of 6:29.090 on September 23, 2024 with the Mercedes-AMG ONE beating the previous record by over eight seconds.[citation needed]
Racing career
Early career
Born in Munich, Engel competed in karting in Germany and France between 1996 and 1999 and finished 4th in the 2000 European Junior Karting Championship. Moving onto Formula BMW, finishing 3rd in the 2001 Junior Cup, before finishing 8th in Formula BMW ADAC the following year.
In 2008 Engel was signed as a factory driver by AMG Mercedes to drive a one-year-old car run by Mücke Motorsport in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for the 2008 season. He remained with the team 2011 season.[1] In four years racing in the category, he achieved a best result of sixth place at first round held at the Hockenheimring in 2009. He went on to finish the 2009 season in twelfth place over all, scoring eight points.
Engel made his V8 Supercar debut in 2013, driving a Mercedes E63 AMG entered by Erebus Motorsport (formerly known as Stone Brothers Racing).[3] Engel replaced Shane van Gisbergen as the driver of the No. 9 SP Tools entry. Engel had five race retirements. His best finish was a ninth place in a hastily prepared under developed car at the third race of the Darwin round.
Macau Grand Prix GT Cup (2013)
Engel captured in his Mercedes-AMG DTM C-Class
Next to his commitments in V8 Supercar for Erebus Motorsport he competed in the 2013 Macau GT Cup with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 scoring pole position and a lap record in qualifying. Narrowly missing out on the victory due to sustaining a puncture on the front left while leading, 2 laps before the end.
GT Racing (2014)
In 2014 Engel resumed his duties as a member of the AMG Customer Sports team racing exclusively with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Making his debut in the Bathurst 12 Hour racing for Erebus Motorsport together with Bernd Schneider (racing driver) and Nico Bastian Engel scored pole position with a lap record of 2min03.8586 and winning the inaugural Allan Simonsen Pole Position Trophy. The German trio dominated the race for 9 hours before an issue forced them to pit for repairs dropping them 7 laps down. He participated in his first 24 Hours Nürburgring racing for German team ROWE Racing finishing the "Hardest race in the World" in 3rd place together with his teammates Nico Bastian Christian Hohenadel and Michael Zehe. Engel also competed in various VLN races for ROWE Racing winning the 9th round of the VLN championship. He also raced in the German ADAC GT Masters series for ROWE Racing.
In 2015 the Macau GT Cup was recognised by the FIA as the FIA GT World Cup lifting its status to the World Cup for GT3 cars. Engel returned with his Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy team in the successful Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Engel won the 12 lap qualification race from third on the grid after Stefan Mücke was penalised for a Safety car procedure infringement. Starting from pole position in the 18 lap race around Macau's famous Guia circuit Engel won the race and was crowned the inaugural FIA GT World Cup Champion. Through Engel's victory combined with the 4th-place finish of his teammate Renger van der ZandeMercedes-Benz won the inaugural FIA GT Manufacturers World Cup.
GT Racing (2016)
Racing for Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon in the new Mercedes-AMG GT3, Engel took overall victory at the Nürburgring 24 hours together with his teammates Bernd Schneider (racing driver)Adam Christodoulou and Manuel Metzger. Engel made the decisive pass to win the race on the last lap. His winning margin was the tightest in the history of the race with merely 5,6s separating the first two cars. Engel was also the first winner of the SCG Pole position trophy after scoring pole position for the Nürburgring 24 hour race in drying track conditions with a lap of 8 minutes 14.563 in the #9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with which Engel also raced performing a double start duty and finishing the race in 4th position with this second car.
Following two victories in 2014 and 2015 in Macau, Engel finished 3rd at the 2016 FIA GT World Cup
Formula E
In August 2016, Engel joined Venturi Grand Prix to make his debut in the 2016-17 season. In his second season Engel finished 12th in the driver standings, scoring a best result of 4th at the Paris ePrix.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2017)
In 2017, Engel rejoined the DTM with Mercedes-Benz taking his maiden DTM win at the Moscow raceway
GT Racing (2018)
In 2018, racing for Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon Engel went on to win the prestigious Blancpain Endurance Series title with his co-drivers, Luca Stolz and Yelmer Buurmann. Racing for Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM he went on to win the Suzuka 10h Intercontinental GT Challenge round sharing the car with Raffaele Marciello and Tristan Vautier.
Racing for Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon Engel finished second at the Nurburgring 24h with his team mates Adam Christodoulou, Manuel Metzger and Dirk Mueller.
At the FIA GT World Cup in Macau, Engel finished second with his Mercedes-AMG GT3 behind the winning BMW M6 GT3 of Augusto Farfus.
GT Racing (2019)
In 2019, Engel finished runner up in the Blancpain GT Series, Overall and Sprint championships as well as 3rd in the Endurance championship racing for Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon with his team mates Luca Stolz (sprint & endurance) and Yelmer Buurmann (endurance). He also scored Pole Position for the Nurburgring and Spa 24h races, a feat which had not been done by any current GT driver scoring pole position for the two biggest GT only Sportscar races in the world in the same year. Together with Yelmer Buurmann and Luca Stolz he finished the Spa 24h race in third place.
GT Racing (2020)
In 2020, Engel finished 3rd in the ADAC GT Masters championship racing for Mercedes-AMG team Toksport and sharing the car with his team mate Luca Stolz, they were in contention for the title until the final race but had to contend with 3rd place in the final rankings. Engel also scored his second consecutive pole position for the Nurburgring 24h race scoring his third SCG Pole Position award making him the driver with the most pole awards since its inception.
GT Racing (2021)
In 2021, Engel won the Daytona 24h race in the GTD class racing for Winward Racing together with Philipp Ellis, Indy Dontje and team owner Russell Ward. It marked the first class win for Mercedes-AMG at the legendary Daytona 24h race.
Racing for Mercedes-AMG team Toksport (sprint) and Mercedes-AMG team HRT (endurance) Engel finished runner up in the GT World Challenge sprint championship and third in the GT World Challenge Overall championship together with his team mate Luca Stolz.
In the ADAC GT Masters championship in a repeat scenario from the previous year he and team mate Luca Stolz racing for Mercedes-AMG team Toksport were in contention until the final race but had to contend with third in the final rankings after a controversial penalty in the final race while leading and on course to take the championship.
GT Racing (2022)
In 2022, Engel won his third Macau Gran Prix GT Cup racing for Mercedes-AMG team Craft Bamboo. He also finished 2nd at the Bathurst 12h with team mates Daniel Juncadella and Kevin Tse. At the Nurburgring 24h Engel finished 3rd racing for Mercedes-AMG team Getspeed together with his team mates Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon. At the Sebring 12h Engel finished 3rd in GTD PRO racing with Jules Gounon and Cooper McNeil for Weathertech Racing. After a five year break Engel returned to DTM in under its new GT3 regulations scoring 1 Pole Position and two podiums.
GT Racing (2023)
In 2023, Engel took his second class win in the Daytona 24h winning the GTD Pro class for Weathertech Racing together with team mates Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella and team owner Cooper McNeil. Later that year he also took the class win at the Petit Le Mans 10h and 3rd at the Sebring 12h in GTD PRO for Weathertech Racing together with Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella.
At the Bathurst 12h Engel scored Pole Position setting a new qualifying track record of 2min00,8819 on the way to taking his second Allan Simonsen Pole award driving for Mercedes-AMG team GruppeM. In the race the following day together with team mates Raffaele Marciello and Mikael Grenier he finished in 3rd place after the crew was forced to change a organizer supplied modem at the last pitstop which stopped working, dropping them from a comfortable lead to second place. In the final stint Engel collided with his Daytona winning team mate Jules Gounon while fighting to regain the lead. Following the contact Engel received a drive through penalty and dropped to third place. In the remaining 30 minutes Engel closed down the gap to the leaders and the finish was the closest finish in Bathurst 12h history with the top three cars covered by 1,4177s.
In DTM Engel took 1 pole position and 1 win in what was a difficult year for the Mercedes-AMG cars as a whole.
In GT World Challenge Endurance Engel finished 3rd in the Endurance championship racing for Mercedes-AMG team Getspeed (season except Spa 24h)and Mercedes-AMG team GruppeM (Spa 24h).
At the FIA GT WOrld Cup in Macau racing for Mercedes-AMG team Craft Bamboo Engel qualified in 3rd place and finished the qualifying race in 2nd place behind brand mate Raffaele Marciello. In the main race Engel suffered a shifting issue while running in 2nd place which forced him to retire from the race.
Commitment
Maro Engel is today a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 80 famous elite athletes including Novak Djokovic and Sergey Bubka among others, committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[4]
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