Maro Engel

Maro Engel is a German racing driver who currently competes for different Mercedes teams in GT races. His greatest achievements are two wins in the Macau GT Cup and the victory at 2016 24 hours of Nürburgring.

He spent one season (2017-2018) in the Formula E Championship with Venturi. Before Engel became a successful Mercedes' GT racer, he spent four seasons in DTM and one season in the Australian V8 Supercars Championship. Early in a career, he was a single-seater racer. He finished in second place in the 2007 British Formula 3.

Maro Engel

Debut in Formula BMW, five seasons in Formula 3

Maro Engel was born on August 27, 1985, in Munich, Germany. He made his first racing steps in the karting competitions all over Europe between 1996 and 2000. Engel's first season with bigger cars was in the 2001 Formula BMW Junior, in which he finished third in the points. Next year, he was 8th at the Formula BMW ADAC championship.

2007 British Formula 3 runner-up

In the next five seasons, from 2003 to 2007, Engel competed in various Formula 3 and Formula 3000 competitions in different European countries (Germany, Italy and UK). In his final Formula 3 season, driving for Carlin in the 2007 British Formula 3 International Series, Maro Engel finished as the runner-up behind Marko Asmer.

Engel competed in Formula 3 until 2007

Engel spent four seasons with Mercedes in DTM

During 2007, Engel was recruited to the Mercedes Junior programme and he was transferred to one of Mercedes DTM teams for the 2008 season. He was driving 2007-spec #12 Mercedes C-Class for Mücke Motorsport. In his first DTM year, Engel's best result was the 9th place at Norisring and he finished 16th in the classification, without scoring points.

Engel spent three more seasons in DTM, driving AMG Mercedes C-Class for Mücke Motorsport. His best result at the end of the season was the 12th place in 2009.

Engel was a DTM driver from 2008 to 2011

Switch to GT racing in 2012

In 2012, he switched to GT racing. He had guest appearances with Mercedes-AMG customer teams in the Australian GT Championship and International GT Open.

In Australia, he was driving Erebus Racing's Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 at Phillip Island, scoring one victory and a second place. In the International GT Open, he partnered Klaas Hummel in Lapidus Racing's SLS at Barcelona.

2013 - season with Mercedes in the V8 Supercars Championship

In 2013, Engel was a part of Erebus Racing's inaugural season in the Australian V8 Supercars Championship. The team brought Mercedes cars for the first time to the V8SC, hiring Engel as one of three drivers.

He spent a full season in the #9 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, scoring only one result in the Top 10 and finishing 28th in the points. His partner in the endurance races (Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast) was Steven Johnson.

Engel's first win at Macau Guia circuit

2014 - full time in the ADAC GT Masters, victory at Macau

In 2014, Maro started the season with his first participation at Bathurst 12 Hour race, together with Bernd Schneider and Nico Bastian in Erebus Racing's car. They started from pole and dominated the race for nine hours but some mechanical problems put them back and they finished in the seventh place.

After that, Engel returned to Europe, competing with Rowe Racing for the full season in the 2014 ADAC GT Masters. He was sharing the #23 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 with Jan Seyffarth. The pair scored no wins and podiums in 16 races. They finished 12th in the points.

During 2014, Engel was much more successful in the endurance races. He debuted at 24 hours of Nürburgring and finished 3rd overall. His partners in Rowe Racing's Mercedes were Nico Bastian, Christian Hohenadel and Michael Zehe. The highlight of the season was Engel's victory in the Macau Grand Prix GT Cup in November, in the #5 car of Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy.

2015 FIA GT World Cup champion

Engel was the winner of the 2015 FIA GT World Cup

In 2015, Engel returned to Nürburgring and Macau. At the Green Hell, he failed to finish the race in Rowe Racing's Mercedes. At famous Macau Guia street circuit, he repeated the triumph with Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy's car, winning the qualifying race and the main race of the FIA GT World Cup.

During 2015, Engel also competed with Black Falcon's #18 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance Series, partnering Oliver Morley and Sean Johnston in five races of the Pro-Am class. Their best result was the 2nd place at Paul Ricard.

Prototype debut at Sebring 12h

In 2016, Engel was driving the sports prototype for the first time, competing with Starworks Motorsport's Oreca FLM09 at 12 hours of Sebring, alongside Sean Johnston and Michael Lyons.

Engel's other commitments over the past few years were participations with different Mercedes teams in GT races all over the world (Bathurst 12 Hour, GT Asia, Blancpain GT Series, VLN Endurance Series, 24H Series).

2016 Nurburgring 24h winners

Career highlight - victory at 24h Nürburgring

The highlight of the year, maybe the best moment of his career so far, was the overall victory at 24 hours of Nürburgring. Engel was a member of the #4 Black Falcon's crew in all-new Mercedes-AMG GT3, together with Adam Christodoulou, Manuel Metzger and Bernd Schneider.

After 24 hours of racing and 134 laps around the most famous race track in the world, they won with a five-second advantage over another Mercedes of HTP Motorsport. Engel took the lead on the final lap from HTP's driver Christian Hohenadel.

Electric racing as a new challenge for Engel

In August 2016, it was announced that Maro Engel will be a part of Venturi Formula E Team in the third season of the electric single-seaters championship. He debuted at Hong Kong ePrix in October and finished 8th in the first race, scoring his maiden 'electric points'. Later in the season, he was in the points just two times and finished 17th in the final classification.

Engel stayed with Venturi in the 2017/2018 Formula E season, improving his results to six finishes among point scorers. At the end of the season, he was 12th in the points.

Maro Engel spent two seasons with Venturi Formula E Team

Maiden DTM victory at Moscow Raceway in 2017

Parallel to his Formula E commitments, Engel returned to the DTM and spent a season driving the #63 Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM. The highlight of the season was his victory in the second race at Moscow Raceway. It was his maiden DTM victory in a career. It remained his only podium that year and he finished 15th in the points.

In 2018, he left DTM but stayed in GT races with Mercedes, winning the championship title in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with Black Falcon team. Outside Blancpain GT Series, the biggest success was the second place at Nurburgring 24 Hours, together with Black Falcon teammates Manuel Metzger, Adam Christodoulou and Dirk Muller in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Later in the season, he won the inaugural edition of Suzuka 10 Hours.

In 2019, Engel stayed with Black Falcon in the Blancpain GT Series and Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Photos: maroengel.com, Getty Images