Maro Engel

Maro René Engel is a German professional racing driver. He is a Mercedes-AMG factory driver since 2008 and a brand ambassador since 2017.
Engel has won the Macau Grand Prix GT Cup four times, the FIA GT World Cup twice, and the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the Suzuka 10 Hours, and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup once. He is also a two time Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race winner.
Engel is currently racing in DTM, GT World Challenge Europe, IMSA, Intercontinental GT Challenge and the 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 and Formula 3000.
Engel also holds the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for road-legal production cars since September 2024, setting a lap time of 6:29.090 driving the Mercedes-AMG ONE, surpassing the previous record by over six seconds.

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Racing career

Early career

Born in Munich, Engel competed in karting in Germany and France between 1996 and 1999 and finished fourth in the 2000 European
Junior Karting Championship. He then moved onto Formula BMW, finishing third in the 2001 Junior Cup, before finishing eighth in Formula BMW ADAC the following year.

Formula Three (2003–2007)

After short spells in Formula Three in 2003-2004, and Italian Formula 3000 in 2005, Engel competed in full seasons in British series in 2006 and 2007, in 2006 receiving backing from Direxiv. In 2007, he was signed as a Mercedes-Benz Junior driving for Carlin Motorsport. He finished fifth with one victory in 2006, and was runner-up to Marko Asmer in 2007 with three wins.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2008–2011)

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. 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.

GT Racing (2012)

After leaving DTM, Engel spent the 2012 year making several guest appearances in selected sports car racing championships worldwide as a member of the AMG Customer Sports team, winning the fifth round of the 2012 Australian GT Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 prepared by Erebus Racing.

V8 Supercars (2013)

Engel made his V8 Supercar debut in [2013 International V8 engine|V8 Supercars Championship|2013], driving a Erebus Mercedes E63 AMG entered by Erebus Motorsport. 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)

Next to his commitments in V8 Supercar for Erebus Motorsport, Engel 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, two 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 nine hours before an issue forced them to pit for repairs dropping them seven laps down.
He participated in his first 24 Hours Nürburgring racing for German team ROWE Racing finishing the "Hardest race in the World" in third place together with his teammates Nico Bastian Christian Hohenadel and Michael Zehe.
Engel also competed in various VLN races for ROWE Racing winning the ninth round of the VLN championship. He also raced in the German ADAC GT Masters series for ROWE Racing.

Macau Grand Prix GT Cup (2014)

Racing for the Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy team in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Engel returned to Macau winning the 2014 Macau GT Cup ahead of his teammate Renger van der Zande scoring a very popular 1-2 win in the gambling capital against the strong competition of Audi, BMW, Porsche and other factory teams and drivers.

GT Racing (2015)

Engel continued racing with and for the AMG Customer Sports team in the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. He was also part of the Mercedes-AMG drivers that assisted development of the new Mercedes-AMG GT3.

FIA GT World Cup (2015)

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 twelve-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 eighteen-lap race, Engel won the race and was crowned the inaugural FIA GT World Cup Champion. Through Engel's victory combined with the fourth-place finish of his teammate Renger van der Zande, Mercedes-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 No. 9 Mercedes-AMG GT3 with which Engel also raced performing a double start duty and finishing the race in fourth position with this second car.
Following two victories in 2014 and 2015 in Macau, Engel finished third 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 fourth 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 third in the Endurance championship racing for Mercedes-AMG Team Black Falcon with his team mates Luca Stolz and Yelmer Buurmann. 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 third 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 third 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 and Mercedes-AMG team HRT, 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, Engel 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 second at the Bathurst 12h with team mates Daniel Juncadella and Kevin Tse. At the Nurburgring 24h, Engel finished third racing for Mercedes-AMG team Getspeed together with his team mates Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon. At the Sebring 12h, Engel finished third 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 one 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 third at the Sebring 12h in GTD PRO for Weathertech Racing, once again with Gounon and 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 third 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 one pole position and one win in what was a difficult year for the Mercedes-AMG cars as a whole.
In GT World Challenge Endurance, Engel finished third in the Endurance championship racing for Mercedes-AMG team Getspeed and Mercedes-AMG team GruppeM.
At the FIA GT World Cup in Macau, racing for Mercedes-AMG team Craft Bamboo, Engel qualified in third place and finished the qualifying race in second place behind brand mate Raffaele Marciello. In the main race, Engel suffered a shifting issue while running in second place which forced him to retire from the race.

Commitment

Engel is 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.

Racing record

Career summary

^† Guest driver ineligible to score points.
^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Three Euro Series results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2003	Opel Team KMS	Dallara F302/009	Spiess-Opel	HOC 1 12	HOC 2 16	ADR 1 23	ADR 2 24	PAU 1	PAU 2	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 14	LMS 1 20	LMS 2 20	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	A1R 1	A1R 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	31st	0