Maro Engel made the move to Australia at the beginning of this year to drive for Erebus Motorsport in the 2013 V8 Supercar championship. The 27 year old German has competed in various championships around the world, and has achieved great success throughout his short career.
Image:
Zimbio
Hailing from Munich, Engel competed in the European Junior Karting Championship prior to a two year stint in Formula BMW. He then stepped up into Formula 3, contesting various championships from 2003 through to 2007. He displayed exceptional talent in the 2006 and 2007 British Formula 3 championships, placing 5th and 2nd overall in the championship standings.
Engel campaigned a Mercedes-Benz C-Class in the DTM, driving four seasons for
Mücke Motorsport between 2008 and 2011. He achieved a best championship result of 12th in 2009, and a best round result of 6th overall in opening round of the 2009 season at Hockenheim. Engel made various Sports Car appearances in 2012, including an Australian GT round win at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in an Erebus Motorsport Mercedes SLS AMG.
Following the resignation of Shane Van Gisbergen from Stone Brothers Racing at the end of 2012, Engel was appointed by Erebus Motorsport (Formerly known as Stone Brothers Racing) to pilot the #9 SP Tools entry for their debut season. Campaigning one of the three brand new Mercedes E-Class sedans, Engel has performed extremely well considering the limited development of his car, which was completed just one month prior to the first race of the season. Engel’s best result of this season came at the third race of the ITM 400 where he placed 20th. He has also managed to accumulate 159 points from the first 9 races of the season.
Maro Engel generously devoted his time to speak exclusively to RaceDepartment about switching to full-time V8 Supercar racing, as well as his other achievements and aspirations in motorsport.
1. Firstly, congratulations on your switch to compete in V8 Supercars full time for the 2013 season. We’re all very excited to have you here! What are your ambitions for the 2013 season? And what are the major differences between driving a DTM Mercedes compared with your Erebus Motorsport Mercedes V8 Supercar?
Thank you, it's very exciting for me to be a part of this very ambitious new project. In terms of ambitions it’s very hard to set ourselves aims in terms of positions because at this stage we are limited with the cars potential, but we are working very hard to improving the car and we would like to be consistently in the top ten in the later part of the year.
In terms of the differences between a V8 Supercar and a DTM, the V8 supercar has significantly more power, but also significantly less grip. This means there is quite a different driving style required in driving these two cars. Another major difference is that in V8 Supercars we drive with a locked rear differential, which limits the car in its ability to turn, so again the driving style and choice of line needs to be adapted accordingly.
2. It has been a remarkable effort for Erebus Motorsport to improve so quickly given that the car was completed only a month prior to the beginning of the season. How important is your feedback in the development of the car? And what are you enjoying the most about competing in the V8 Supercar Championship?
Yes indeed I cannot praise the team enough for how well they have worked and all the effort that has gone into realising this project in such an incredibly short amount of time. We have very good team spirit within the team and every driver has an important role in terms of giving feedback and comments to improve the car, and naturally I have a strong part to play in this. Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade have had vast experience in V8 Supercars and I have a lot of experience in other motorsport categories to draw on, so I believe we complement each other very well in the development of the cars.
This process of development is what I really enjoy; it’s incredibly fascinating to be able to work with our highly skilled engineers on extracting more performance out of our cars. There is only this one chance to be a part of this project from the start and being a part of this process of turning our car into a winner.
3. Would you ever consider racing at the Le Mans 24 Hour or any other high profile endurance racing events in the future? And are there any other categories of motorsport that you would like to try but haven’t yet had the opportunity to?
Yes absolutely, the Le Mans 24 hour race is something that I would love to do at some point in the future. It's a great event and represents the pinnacle of endurance racing. Unfortunately Mercedes-Benz did not participate these past years so there wasn't an opportunity there. Generally I would love to do some of the grand classic endurance races, Le Mans, Daytona, Nurburgring but also Bathurst.
4. In 2006/7, you competed in the British Formula 3 Championship and achieved some fantastic results. Can you tell us about your experience racing open wheel racing cars around some of the most famous circuits in the world, such as Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone?
My two seasons in British F3 were really my stepping stone into professional motorsport. I hugely enjoyed the experience and learnt a great deal. Funnily enough it was always the famous tracks with a big racing history where I raced the best. I managed to take my first F3 pole position and win at Spa Francorchamps on my first visit there which was absolutely incredible. Going through the famous Eau Rouge for the first time was better than any rollercoaster. The gradient and elevation is simply incredible, TV images don't do it any justice.
But also my win in Monza is very special to me, the atmosphere standing on what I believe is the best podium in the world and watching the entire team standing below is something I still like to remember today.
5. At RaceDepartment.com we organise online racing competitions through simulated racing games such as iRacing. Do you currently, or have you grown up playing any racing games? And have you used racing games or simulators to learn unfamiliar circuits in Australia?
Well as any motor-enthusiastic kid I used to play a lot on my racing games. My preferred game was always the Gran Turismo game on play station. I would play for endless hours battling one of my best friends on the Nurburgring Nordschleife!
Currently I try to visit a simulator shop before heading out to new circuits in order to learn them, as all of the circuits in Australia are new to me. The software they use is rFactor I believe. It is not quite the real thing but it does give me a very good idea of what to expect at the race tracks, with the benefit of being able to crash without any consequences.
6. Obviously you have had experience racing in many different categories around the world. What would you consider to be the highlight of your career? And what have been your favourite and least favourite cars to compete in?
From a racing driver perspective I think a highlight itself is being to be able to compete in so many different great cars and series, as it really has given me a lot of different experiences to draw from. From an emotional perspective winning in Spa and Monza was fantastic.
But also my very first victory in car racing is special to me. In my DTM career there are also some performances I am very proud of where I was able to place the car much higher than it really should have been, beating very nameful drivers that were my team mates such as David Coulthard or Ralf Schumacher.
Thank you once again for speaking with us Maro and best of luck for the rest of the 2013 V8 Supercar Championship.
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