Luca Engstler
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| Luca Engstler | |
|---|---|
 Engstler at the Hockenheimring in 2023 | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Born | 8 March 2000 |
| Relatives | Franz Engstler (father) |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters career | |
| Debut season | 2023 |
| Current team | Abt Sportsline |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver (until 2019) FIA Gold (2020–) |
| Car number | 130 |
| Former teams | Liqui Moly Team Engstler GRT Grasser Racing Team |
| Starts | 50 (50 entries) |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 12th in 2025 |
| Previous series | |
| 2022 2019–21 2019 2017–18, 20–21 2015–16 | ADAC GT Masters World Touring Car Cup TCR Europe ADAC TCR Germany ADAC Formula 4 |
| Championship titles | |
| 2024 2021 2021 2019-2020 2018-2019 2018 2017 | GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup - Gold Cup World Touring Car Cup - Junior ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship TCR Malaysia Touring Car Championship TCR Asia Series TCR Middle East Series ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship - Junior |
Luca Engstler (born 8 March 2000) is a German racing driver currently competing in the DTM.[1] Like his father Franz Engstler he made his name in the touring car scene, winning the TCR Asia Series in 2018 and 2019 and taking the 2021 TCR title in Germany.[2]
He is a DTM race winner, having triumphed at Oschersleben in April 2024.[3]
Engstler began his career in 2009 in karting, where he remained until 2014. In 2015, he switched to the ADAC Formula 4 series, spending two years in the championship and scoring a total of two points. For 2017, he switched to the ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship; he took his first podiums at the third round of the championship at Oschersleben, where he finished third twice.[4][5][6][7]
In June 2017, it was announced that Engstler would race in the TCR International Series, driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR for his ADAC TCR Germany team Junior Team Engstler.[8][9]
Since 2017, Engstler has competed in a range of TCR Series including ADAC Germany, Middle East, Asia, Europe, China, Malaysia and the World series. He was the 2019 Middle East champion, 2018 and 2019 TCR Asia champion and 2019 and 2020 TCR Malaysia champion.[10][11][12][13][14]
The 2019 season saw Engstler compete in the TCR Europe Touring Car Series with the M1RA outfit.[15] He finished the season in ninth place, having taken two podiums, including a controversial win at the Red Bull Ring where he collided with Luca Filippi on the final lap.[16] The German also competed in the World Touring Car Cup as a wildcard entry at the Slovakia Ring, as well as replacing Augusto Farfus in Macau.[17][18][19]
In 2020, Engstler entered the World Touring Car Cup on a full-time basis, driving a Hyundai i30 N TCR for the family team.[20] With a best finish of eighth, the German ended up 16th in the championship. Engstler returned to the series in 2021, this time being joined at Engstler Motorsport by experienced race winner Jean-Karl Vernay.[21] Despite only finishing 15th overall, Engstler managed to score his maiden WTCR podium at the Nordschleife, as well as winning the rookie championship by one point to Gilles Magnus. During the same year, Engstler also managed to clinch the ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship, winning the title with two races to spare.[22][23]
GT3 career
In 2022, Engstler switched to GT racing in the GT3 category, driving for Rutronik Racing in the ADAC GT Masters alongside Patric Niederhauser.[24] The pair started out with a second place at Oschersleben and went on to become regular top-ten finishers, leaving them 14th in the standings by the end of the season.
Engstler progressed to the DTM in 2023, driving an Audi R8 LMS Evo II fielded by the family team.[25] He struggled to score points consistently, ending up with a best race result of seventh and finishing 24th overall.
The same year saw Engstler compete at the 24 Hours of Spa, where he finished third overall with Scherer Sport PHX alongside Kelvin van der Linde and Nicki Thiim.[26]
For the 2024 season, Engstler remained in the DTM, this time switching to Lamborghini customer GRT.[27] At the opening round in Oschersleben, he qualified fourth on Sunday, a position that turned to first thanks to a fortunately-timed full-course yellow phase. He held off Maro Engel in the closing stages and took his first DTM win, eleven years after his father Franz had scored his lone WTCC victory at the same track.[28][29]