Maro Engel

Maro Engel (born 27 August 1985) is a German professional racing driver. He is a long-time Mercedes-AMG works driver, currently racing in Formula E and the FIA GT World Cup. His has previously raced in the DTM, V8 Supercars, F3000 and F3.

Early career

Born in Munich, Maro competed in karting in Germany and France between 1996 and 1999 and finished 4th in the 2000 European Junior Karting Championship. He then moved onto Formula BMW, finishing 3rd in the 2001 Junior Cup, before finishing 8th in Formula BMW ADAC the following year.

Formula Three (2003–2007)

He moved onto Formula Three in 2003 as a factory Opel driver, and raced in the Recaro F3 Cup in 2004, and Italian Formula 3000 in 2005. He returned to F3 for the 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)

Engel driving at Hockenheim in the 2008 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season.

He was signed 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 testing for the V8 Supercar Championship

Engel made his V8 Supercar debut in 2013, driving a Mercedes E63 AMG entered by Erebus Motorsport (formerly known as Stone Brothers Racing). Engel replaced Shane van Gisbergen as the driver of the No. 9 SP Tools entry.

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.

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 team mate 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 as an Official Mercedes-AMG Performance driver. He joined team Black Falcon as the pro driver in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in Pro-AM with a best result of 2nd at the 1000 km Paul Ricard race. He also contested the Spa 24 Hours with team Black falcon where the team had a DNF. On the Nürburgring Engel continued to race with ROWE Racing winning one VLN race. He also participated in the Nürburgring 24 Hours but the team had to DNF the car after several punctures.

Engel 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 championship 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 team mate Renger van der Zande Mercedes-Benz won the inaugural FIA GT Manufacturers World Cup.

LMPC IMSA Racing (2016)

Engel joined Starworks Motorsport for the American Endurance sportscar classics 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in their Oreca Prototype in the LMPC class. Engel is also due to compete in the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta for Starworks later in the season.

GT Racing (2016)

Engel has been confirmed as an Official Mercedes-AMG Driver again. Racing for AMG Team Black Falcon in the new Mercedes-AMG GT3, Engel finished 3rd at the opening VLN race of the 2016 season together with his team mates Bernd Schneider (racing driver) Adam Christodoulou and Manuel Metzger.

He also raced in:

Dubai 24 Hours racing for Abu Dhabi racing Black Falcon where the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 was running strongly in 2nd place before retiring due to contact.

Bathurst 12 Hour racing for Erebus Motorsport driving the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 where the team was running strongly and led the race at times before a puncture caused the car to go straight on into the barriers at the end of Mountain Straight with three hours from the end.

Formula E

In August 2016, Engel joined Venturi Grand Prix to make his debut in the 2016-17 season.

Complete Formula Three Euro Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete British Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

International V8 Supercars Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

*Season still in progress.

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.