Franz Engstler
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| Nation: |
 Germany
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| DTM | |||||||||
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| First race: | Hockenheimring III 1989 | ||||||||
| Last race: | Norisring 1994 | ||||||||
| Teams (manufacturers) | |||||||||
| 1989 Linder ( BMW ) • 1990 Bigazzi (BMW) • 1991 Irmscher ( Opel ) • 1992 Vogelsang Valier (BMW) • 1993 Schübel ( Alfa Romeo ) • 1994 Engstler (Alfa Romeo) | |||||||||
| statistics | |||||||||
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| Podiums: | - | ||||||||
| Overall wins: | - | ||||||||
| Points: | 27 | ||||||||
Franz Engstler (born July 25, 1961 in Kempten (Allgäu) ) is a German automobile racing driver and team boss of Engstler Motorsport . He has competed in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) since 2007 .
He is an automobile salesman and ran an Alfa Romeo car dealership.
Career
Beginnings in motorsport
Franz Engstler began his motorsport career in hillclimbing races in 1982 and was runner-up in the European Hill Climb Championship in 1983 . In the following two years he won the German Long Distance Cup. From 1988 Engstler started in the German Formula 3 Championship and drove there in class B. After the runner-up in the first year, he won the championship title in class B in 1989. A year later he was fourth.
1989–1999: DTM and STW
As early as 1989, Engstler took part in a run of the German Touring Car Championship for the first time. In 1991 he drove an Opel Omega for the Opel -Werksteam Irmscher . In 1993 he won the Class 2 championship in an Alfa Romeo 155. By 1994, Engstler had contested 73 races in the German Touring Car Championship and collected 27 championship points.
From 1994 Engstler drove in the newly founded Super Touring Car Cup , in which he competed until the racing series was discontinued in 1999. He started out on a BMW 318i before founding his own team in 1996 and now driving an Alfa Romeo 155. In 1998 he was on the road in an Opel Vectra used by Irmscher. The following year he again drove an Alfa Romeo 155 belonging to his own team. However, Engstler never got beyond midfield positions and could not achieve any major successes.
2000–2007: ADAC Procar and Asian Touring Car Championship
From 2000, Engstler took part in the German Touring Car Challenge in a BMW 320i . In his first year he was victorious in three races and won the championship at the end of the season. In 2001 he temporarily drove a vehicle of this brand as a works driver for Alfa Romeo. In 2002 he worked for Schubert Motors . He finished third in the season finale, the “ Guia Race ” in Macau, and came eleventh in the championship. Now driving for his own team again, Engstler was able to improve this performance in 2003 and came second in Macau. He finished the German Touring Car Challenge on third place in the championship. In 2004 he won a run in what is now called the "German Production Car Championship" series and achieved fifth place in the championship.
Then Engstler switched to the Asian Touring Car Championship , in which he was able to clearly dominate the competition. In 2005 and 2006 he won the championship both times and won a total of 21 races. In 2006, Engstler also competed in the last eight races of the former German Production Car Championship, which was now called the "ADAC Procar Series". There he achieved four wins and the seventh championship place. In 2007 he was clearly superior to the competition and was champion of this racing series for the first time in seven years. He was able to win twelve of 15 races. He also made his debut in 2007 in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) at the season finale in Macau .
Since 2008: WTCC
Engstler has competed in every race in the World Touring Car Championship since 2008 . He also changed the vehicle and switched to a BMW 320si . In his very first season he was runner-up in the private driver championship. In the overall ranking he finished 17th. At the season finale in Macau he was the best private driver and finished sixth, with which he got his first three world championship points. In 2009 Engstler drove in the World Touring Car Championship again. At the second round in Morocco he was again the best privateer and took seventh place two world championship points.
Franz Engstler had a strange incident during the second run in France. After he finished sixth in the first run and thus secured three world championship points, he took the lead at the start of the second run. Engstler had a good chance of his first race win, as overtaking on the Circuit de Pau is considered very difficult until the safety car got in his way at the beginning of the second lap. Immediately before Engstler passed the pit exit, the safety car driven by Philippe Cholet and Jean-Pierre Colas unexpectedly left the pit lane without any instructions. In addition, it disregarded the pit exit line, which is not allowed to be crossed for safety reasons, and pulled slowly onto the ideal line . Engstler had no way of preventing the accident, as the pit exit was behind an unclear high-speed bend and collided with the safety car, which meant that he was out of the race.
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At the second run in Oschersleben , Engstler again achieved two championship points in seventh place. At the end of the 2009 season he finished 16th with seven points and the world championship and third place in the Independents' Trophy for private drivers. 2010 Engstler experienced a mixed season with a few setbacks. It was only in the last three races of the season that he made it into the points three times in a row and made up ground in the private drivers' standings. Although he had only finished one race as the best-placed private driver, he still achieved second place in the Independents' Trophy . In addition, he finished 17th in the overall ranking with five points.
When the new 1.6-liter turbo engines were approved for the 2011 season, Engstler also switched to the BMW 320 TC with such a drive. He regularly drove into the points and achieved third place in the second race in Donington Park, his best overall result in the World Touring Car Championship up to that point. Two weeks later, shortly after his 50th birthday, he achieved the greatest success of his career so far in his home race in Oschersleben: Starting from pole position in the second race, he initially fell behind Norbert Michelisz , but took over again after his driving error Guide. He then claimed this in front of Alain Menu and Gabriele Tarquini and did not allow them to come closer. With this, Engstler not only achieved his first overall victory in the WTCC, but also the first victory of a BMW 320 TC. Engstler finished the season in eighth place in the overall standings and thus achieved his best overall ranking so far. Within the team he was defeated by Kristian Poulsen , who, however, had no victory. In the private driver classification, Engstler took third place. In 2012 Engstler completed another season in the WTCC. After the second race weekend, with a fifth place as the best result, he was ninth in the championship.
Others
In 2005 and 2008 Engstler won the “BMW Sports Cup”.
statistics
Career stations
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Web links
- Engstler Motorsport
- Profile on Motorsport-Total.com
- Video of the accident with the safety car in Pau in 2009
- Franz Engstler's career statistics (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Engstler with WTCC assignment in Macau (Motorsport-Total.com on October 15, 2007)
- ↑ Vice World Champion Engstler: "Macau was the crowning glory" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 26, 2008)
- ↑ Safety car throws Engstler out of the race! (Motorsport-Total.com on May 17, 2009)
- ^ Pau: Safety car acted unauthorized (Motorsport-Total.com on May 19, 2009)
- ↑ Review 2010: Team Engstler (Motorsport-Total.com on December 27, 2010)
- ↑ Engstler after third place: "Just perfect" (Motorsport-Total.com on July 17, 2011)
- ↑ Sensation: Engstler wins in Oschersleben! (Motorsport-Total.com on July 31, 2011)
- ↑ Franz Engstler at the very front (Motorsport-Magazin.com on November 30, 2008)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Engstler, Franz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German automobile racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 25, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kempten (Allgäu) , Germany |