Luca Engstler

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]

Luca Engstler
Engstler at the Hockenheimring in 2023
Nationality	German
Born	(2000-03-08) 8 March 2000 (age 24) Wiggensbach, Germany
Related to	Franz Engstler (father)
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters career
Debut season	2023
Current team	GRT Grasser Racing Team
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	19
Former teams	Liqui Moly Team Engstler
Starts	32 (32 entries)
Wins	2
Podiums	1
Poles	0
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	14th in 2024
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

He is a DTM race winner, having triumphed at Oschersleben in April 2024.^[3]

Early career & TCR

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 he 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, the German remained in the DTM, this time switching to Lamborghini customer GRT.^[27] At the opening round in Oschersleben, Engstler 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]

Racing record

Career Summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2015	ADAC Formula 4 Championship	Engstler Motorsport	24	0	0	0	0	0	39th
2016	ADAC Formula 4 Championship	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	24	0	0	0	0	2	26th
2017	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship	Junior Team Engstler	14	0	1	0	2	175	12th
	TCR International Series		2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	TCR Europe Trophy	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	2	0	0	0	0	12	8th
	TCR Middle East Series		6	1	1	0	3	79	3rd
2018	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	6	0	0	0	2	414	2nd
		Hyundai Team Engstler	8	3	1	1	4
	TCR Asia Series	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	10	4	3	4	7	197	1st
	TCR Middle East Series		5	3	2	3	5	119	1st
	24H TCE Series - TCR
2019	World Touring Car Cup	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	3	0	0	0	0	2	28th
		Hyundai Team Engstler	3	0	0	0	0
	TCR Asia Series	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	10	6	4	8	9	221	1st
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - VT2	Hyundai Team Engstler	1	0	1	0	1	N/A	3rd
	FIA Motorsport Games Touring Car Cup	Team Germany	2	0	1	0	0	0	20th
	TCR Europe Touring Car Series	M1RA	14	1	0	1	2	192	9th
2020	World Touring Car Cup	Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Engstler	14	0	0	0	0	59	16th
	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship	Hyundai Team Engstler	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
	TCR Malaysia Touring Car Championship		6	4	2	3	4	121	1st
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - TCR	Hyundai Motorsport N	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
2021	World Touring Car Cup	Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team	16	0	0	0	1	86	15th
	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship	Hyundai Team Engstler	12	6	4	5	10	337	1st
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - VT2	ROJA Motorsport by ASL Lichtblau	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - TCR	Hyundai Motorsport N	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
2022	ADAC GT Masters	Rutronik Racing	14	0	1	0	1	104	14th
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9	Scherer Sport Team Phoenix	1	1	0	0	1	0	NC†
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - TCR	Scherer Sport	1	1	1	1	1	0	NC†
	24H GT Series - GT3	Attempto Racing
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - Cup2	IronForce Racing by Phoenix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	5th
2023	Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	16	0	0	0	0	18	24th
	International GT Open		4	0	0	0	0	4	29th
	GT Winter Series		?	?	?	?	?	30.75	31st
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Scherer Sport PHX	1	0	0	0	1	24	12th
	Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9	Audi Sport Team Car Collection	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
	24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	13th
2024	Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters	Lamborghini Team Liqui Moly by GRT	16	2	0	1	3	92	14th
	FIA GT World Cup
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup	Liqui Moly Team Engstler by One Group	10	0	1	0	0	12.5	13th
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup - Gold Cup		10	2	4	2	9	119.5	1st
	Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9	Renazzo Motor with mcchip-dkr
	IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro	Iron Lynx	1	0	0	0	0	202	44th

†Guest driver ineligible to score points.

Complete TCR International Series results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2017	Junior Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	RIM 1	RIM 2	BHR 1	BHR 2	SPA 1	SPA 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	SAL 1	SAL 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	OSC 1 Ret	OSC 2 DNS	CHA 1	CHA 2	ZHE 1	ZHE 2	DUB 1	DUB 2	NC	0

Complete TCR ADAC Germany Touring Car Championship results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2017	Junior Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	OSC 1 17	OSC 2 16	RBR 1 Ret	RBR 2 34	OSC 1 3	OSC 2 3	ZAN 1 16	ZAN 2 9	NÜR 1 15	NÜR 2 11	SAC 1 19	SAC 2 6	HOC 1 5	HOC 2 20	12th	175
2018	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	OSC 1 3	OSC 2 4	MST 1 6	MST 2 3	RBR 1 7	RBR 2 4									2nd	414
		Hyundai i30 N TCR							NÜR 1 9	NÜR 2 6	ZAN 1 5	ZAN 2 1	SAC 1 1	SAC 2 1	HOC 1 3	HOC 2 4

Complete TCR Middle East Series results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	DC	Points
2018	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	YMC 1 3	YMC 2 1	DUB 1 1	DUB 2 3	BHR 1 1	BHR 2 C	1st	119

Complete TCR Asia Series results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2018	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	SEP 1 11	SEP 2 3	BUR 1 Ret1	BUR 2 2	BNS 1 61	BNS 2 Ret	YEO 1 21	YEO 2 1	SHA 1 12	SHA 1 2	1st	197
2019	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Hyundai i30 N TCR	SEP 1 11	SEP 2 Ret	BUR 1 11	BUR 2 1	BUR 1 23	BUR 2 1	BUR 1 11	BUR 2 3	BNS 1 21	BNS 2 3	1st	221

Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2019	M1RA	Hyundai i30 N TCR	HUN 1 18	HUN 2 12	HOC 1 2	HOC 2 7	SPA 1 9	SPA 2 7	RBR 1 5	RBR 2 1	OSC 1 Ret	OSC 2 7	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 11	MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 12	9th	192

Complete TCR China Touring Car Championship results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2019	Hyundai Team Engstler	Hyundai i30 N TCR	ZHU 1	ZHU 2	SHA 1	SHA 2	ZHE 1	ZHE 2	NIN 1 1	NIN 2 1	ZHZ 1 1	ZHZ 2 2	5th	73

Complete TCR Malaysia Touring Car Championship results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	DC	Points
2019	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Hyundai i30 N TCR	SEP1 1 1	SEP1 2 1	SEP2 1 1	SEP2 2 1	SEP3 1 2	SEP3 2 1	1st	142.5
2020	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Hyundai i30 N TCR	SEP1 1 1	SEP1 2 7	SEP2 1 1	SEP2 2 Ret	SEP3 1 1	SEP3 2 1	1st	121

^* Season still in progress.

Complete World Touring Car Cup results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	DC	Points
2019	Hyundai Team Engstler	Hyundai i30 N TCR	MAR 1	MAR 2	MAR 3	HUN 1	HUN 2	HUN 3	SVK 1 10‡	SVK 2 Ret	SVK 3 10‡	NED 1	NED 2	NED 3	GER 1	GER 2	GER 3	POR 1	POR 2	POR 3	CHN 1	CHN 2	CHN 3	JPN 1	JPN 2	JPN 3							NC‡	0‡
	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team																										MAC 1 16	MAC 2 Ret	MAC 3 14	MAL 1	MAL 2	MAL 3	28th	2
2020	Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team	Hyundai i30 N TCR	BEL 1 12	BEL 2 10	GER 1 DNP	GER 2 DNP	SVK 1 22†	SVK 2 10	SVK 3 9	HUN 1 8	HUN 2 Ret	HUN 3 16	ESP 1 8	ESP 2 9	ESP 3 Ret	ARA 1 13	ARA 2 11	ARA 3 14															16th	59
2021	Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team	Hyundai Elantra N TCR	GER 1 17	GER 2 2	POR 1 12	POR 2 Ret	ESP 1 13	ESP 2 8	HUN 1 11	HUN 2 15	CZE 1 12	CZE 2 7	FRA 1 9	FRA 2 11	ITA 1 15	ITA 2 10	RUS 1 13	RUS 2 10															15th	86

^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance. ^‡ As Engstler was a Wildcard entry, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete ADAC GT Masters results

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

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	DC	Points
2022	Rutronik Racing	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	OSC 1 9	OSC 2 21	RBR 1 9	RBR 2 10	ZAN 1 10	ZAN 2 18†	NÜR 1 4	NÜR 2 12	LAU 1 42	LAU 2 7	SAC 1 6	SAC 2 Ret	HOC 1 13	HOC 2 Ret	14th	104

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

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

Year	Entrant	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2023	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	OSC 1 17	OSC 2 DSQ	ZAN 1 14	ZAN 2 14	NOR 1 Ret	NOR 2 19	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 7	LAU 1 DSQ	LAU 2 15	SAC 1 19	SAC 2 Ret	RBR 1 12	RBR 2 Ret	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 22	24th	18
2024	GRT Grasser Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	OSC 1 11	OSC 2 1	LAU 1 14	LAU 2 5	ZAN 1 Ret	ZAN 2 12	NOR 1 3	NOR 2 19	NÜR 1 18	NÜR 2 15	SAC 1 Ret	SAC 2 Ret	RBR 1 18	RBR 2 Ret2	HOC 1 15	HOC 2 1	14th	92

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results

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

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Points
2024	LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler by OneGroup	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	Gold	BRH 1 7	BRH 2 10	MIS 1 21	MIS 2 15			MAG 1 13	MAG 2 19	CAT 1 7	CAT 2 10	1st	119.5
		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2						HOC 1 6	HOC 2 13

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2024	Iron Lynx	GTD Pro	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	Lamborghini 5.2 L V10	DAY	SEB	LGA	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS 13	PET	44th	202

References

1. "DTM - Luca Engstler". dtm.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
2. "24.10.2021 - Hyundai Team Engstler gewinnt mit Luca Engstler den TCR-Titel | News | Engstler Motorsport GmbH". www.engstler-motorsport.de. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
3. Goodwin, Graham (28 April 2024). "Luca Engstler Claims First DTM Win In Race 2 At Oschrsleben". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
4. "Luca Engstler career statistics". Driver Database. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
5. "16-year-old Luca Engstler confirmed to drive in the 2017 ADAC TCR Germany". TouringCarTimes. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
6. Hudson, Neil (8 July 2017). "Moritz Oestreich wins the first race of the weekend at Oschersleben". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
7. Hudson, Neil (9 July 2017). "Niels Langeveld takes controversial win in Race 2 at Oschersleben". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
8. "Luca Engstler will make TCR International Series debut at Oschersleben". TouringCarTimes. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
9. "Luca Engstler ready for International Series debut". tcr-series.com. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
10. "Luca Engstler seals 2018 TCR Middle East title with Bahrain Race 1 win". TouringCarTimes. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
11. "Luca Engstler doubles up in Shanghai to secure TCR Asia title". TouringCarTimes. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
12. "Luca Engstler clinches second TCR Asia title as Diego Moran wins opening race". TouringCarTimes. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
13. "Mitchell Cheah wins Race 1 as Luca Engstler secures the title". TouringCarTimes. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
14. "Luca Engstler claims TCR Malaysia title on equal points as Dan Lloyd". TouringCarTimes. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
15. "M1RA return with two Hyundais for Luca Engstler and Dániel Nagy". TouringCarTimes. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
16. Persson, Mattias (14 July 2019). "Luca Engstler survives Spielberg chaos to snatch controversial victory". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
17. "Luca Engstler secures Slovakia wild card". TouringCarTimes. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
18. "Luca Engstler steps in for Augusto Farfus at Macau". TouringCarTimes. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
19. Boer, Rene de (17 November 2019). "Macau Post-Race Notebook – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
20. "Hyundai confirm Michelisz, Tarquini, Catsburg and Engstler". TouringCarTimes. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
21. "Hyundai confirms Elantra switch for 2021 WTCR season". TouringCarTimes. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
22. "Hyundai Team Engstler gewinnt mit Luca Engstler den TCR-Titel". www.hyundai.news. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
23. "Luca Engstler is TCR Germany champion in Hockenheim". www.yokohama.eu (in Danish). 24 October 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
24. Plümer, Jonas (9 March 2022). "Luca Engstler und Patric Niederhauser starten für Rutronik Racing im ADAC GT Masters" [Luca Engstler and Patric Niederhauser start for Rutronik Racing in the ADAC GT Masters]. gt-place.com (in German). Retrieved 9 March 2022.
25. "Fix: Luca Engstler startet mit Familienteam in DTM / DTM - SPEEDWEEK.COM". www.speedweek.com (in German). Retrieved 10 March 2023.
26. 24 Hours of Spa Final Results
27. Haidinger, Sven. "Grasser-Team holt Luca Engstler: Lamborghini-Zukunft für DTM-Youngster?". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2024.
28. Seiwert, Robert (28 April 2024). "Spektakulär! Luca Engstler feiert ersten DTM-Sieg in Oschersleben". Motorsport-Magazin.com (in German). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
29. Euwema, Davey (28 April 2024). "Engstler Holds off Engel to Take Maiden Win – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 28 April 2024.

External links

• Luca Engstler career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Tom Lautenschlager (Junior)	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship Rookie Champion 2017	Succeeded by Max Hesse
Preceded by Josh Files	TCR Middle East Series Champion 2018	Succeeded by René Münnich
Preceded by Kantadhee Kusiri	TCR Asia Series Champion 2018 2019	Succeeded by Jason Zhang
Preceded by Inaugural	TCR Malaysia Touring Car Championship Champion 2019 2020	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Antti Buri	ADAC TCR Germany Touring Car Championship Champion 2021	Succeeded by Martin Andersen
Preceded by Gilles Magnus	World Touring Car Cup Junior Champion 2021	Succeeded by None (Class discontinued)
Preceded by Calan Williams Niklas Krütten	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Gold Cup Champion 2024 With: Max Hofer	Succeeded by Incumbent