The man of the hour in the DTM: An interview with BMW works driver Philipp Eng.

Munich. His emotions in the cockpit after crossing the finish
line were quite clear. With his first DTM victory in Saturday’s race
at Zolder (BEL), a dream came true for BMW works driver Philipp Eng
(AUT). On Sunday, the 29-year-old Austrian, who is contesting his
second DTM season with BMW Team RBM, finished on the podium again in
second place, which saw him take the lead in the DTM driver’s
standings.

 

Eng started his career in motorsport in Formula BMW and, after
several years in other race series and cars, returned to BMW in 2016.
In his very first year as a BMW works driver, he celebrated victory at
the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) in the BMW M6 GT3. In 2017, he
battled for the title in the ADAC GT Masters with BMW Team Schnitzer
right down to the last day of the season.

 

Eng was added to BMW’s DTM squad in 2018. In only his third DTM race,
he celebrated his first podium at the Lausitzring (GER); one day later
he brought home his first pole position at the same track. One race
weekend later, Eng followed up with his second podium in Budapest
(HUN). In addition to his involvement in the BMW DTM team, Eng still
contests GT races. 2018 saw him take part in the legendary 24 Hours of
Le Mans (FRA) in the BMW M8 GTE of BMW Team MTEK – and celebrate his
second overall win at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in the BMW M6
GT3 of Walkenhorst Motorsport.

 

2019 started off with another victory for Eng. With his team-mates
Augusto Farfus (BRA), Connor De Philippi (USA) and Colton Herta (USA),
he drove to victory in the GTLM class at the 24 Hours of Daytona
(USA), in the BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE. And in the DTM, Eng set a new
lap record for closed vehicles in his ZF BMW M4 DTM at the opening
weekend at Hockenheim (GER) – when he secured pole position on Sunday.
This was followed by the successful weekend at Zolder.

 

Philipp, you celebrated your first DTM win at Zolder. What was
going through your mind as you crossed the finish line?

 

Philipp Eng: “I just screamed. A great weight has been lifted from my
shoulders. I have wanted to get a DTM win ever since I started racing.
And for me personally, it has taken a great weight off my mind. Not
because anybody was pressuring me, just because I really, really
wanted it. It was such a cool feeling. And everyone was really happy
for me – it was great to see.”

 

You talked at length about Charly Lamm after this win. What
did he mean to you?

 

Eng: “A great deal. Charly was a good friend and a very important
companion. He was just an incredibly great person. I learned a great
deal in the year that I drove for him in the ADAC GT Masters. And not
only about motorsport. He always said: ‘You have to be in the right
frame of mind.’ That was always our running gag, but it was much more
than that. We had a very special, close connection. It was a great
loss, and at Zolder I felt him sitting on the passenger seat next to
me and keeping his fingers crossed for me.”

 

In your second DTM year you are now a DTM winner and are
currently top of the driver’s championship. But it was far from easy
getting to this point. Did you have to overcome a hurdle or two
during your career to get where you are now?

 

Eng: “It all started because I watched karting on TV and I said to my
parents that I would like to try it. They made my wish come true and I
went to the karting school near Salzburg almost every Tuesday. It was
so much fun. So I got really involved in karting and did really well
internationally. After my 2004 win at the Italian Open Masters, Red
Bull added me to their Junior team. That is what enabled me to get
involved in single-seater racing. Without this support I would never
have sat in a racing car because my parents are just regular people.
They always did everything in their power for me, but it was clear
from the start that they wouldn’t sell the shirt off their back. It
was a difficult time for me when I lost the Red Bull drive. I just
wasn’t good enough at that point. I totally understood the decision,
because at that time I wasn’t what they were looking for. But
naturally it was difficult to find a budget again after that.”

 

How did things progress for you from there?

 

Eng: “Peter Mücke helped us a great deal at that time, and I was able
to keep racing in Formula BMW. I finished third in the overall
standings and won the Formula BMW World Final. The reward was driving
the Formula 1 car in Mexico City, and I will never forget that day.
Plans to race in Formula 3 after that came to nothing, so I competed
in Formula BMW for Peter Mücke again. He was an important guide on my
journey. Then I raced in Formula 2 in 2009 and 2010, but the financial
situation there was strained at times as well. My parents pitched in
once again, and different people helped me here and there. 2010 really
was a character building year because I would travel to the races and
sometimes I wouldn’t know on Thursday if I would be able to race on
the Friday. So it became clear that Formula 1 wasn’t going to happen.
I was already 21 back then. And from that point on, I really wanted to
make it to the DTM; that was my major goal. Initially, I competed in
various Porsche one-make cups and the GT Masters – and then I became a
BMW works driver.”

 

Was being signed as a BMW works driver the breakthrough in
your career?

 

Eng: “Definitely. I was successful in the one-make cups in 2014 and
2015, but the big breakthrough was very clearly signing my works
contract. I always wanted to drive for BMW, partly because I had been
a BMW Junior. So, I took my first steps with BMW Motorsport, and that
everything has come full circle, culminating in the DTM win, is super
cool. And I hope that there is even more to come.”

 

What did you learn in your first year in the DTM that you can
put into practice now?

 

Eng: “A great deal. A large part of that was getting to know all the
processes and procedures at a DTM weekend. Crucial for the current
success is that I know to do this and that at this point and that
point. Particularly when it comes to working with my engineer. That we
always communicate well and always find the right time to take a step
forward. It was difficult at the very beginning because I learned that
at a DTM race weekend a great deal is about organising yourself so I
had to get used to that first. It all gives you a routine and
self-confidence. And I think that is a great difference this year
compared with last year.”

 

How are you working on yourself to become an even better driver?

 

Eng: “I am extremely motivated to continuously improve myself. I
spend a lot of time with the team, I spend a lot of time in the
simulator, I’m on my bike a lot, or outside in the mountains. I want
to get better every day and keep learning something new. Hopefully
that will end up making me another half a tenth of a second faster.”

 

What is your strategy for when things don’t go according to plan?

 

Eng: “I always ask myself the question: Can I influence this – yes or
no? If, for example, like at the start of the race weekend at
Hockenheim, there is a problem with the car, I can’t influence that at
all. Then I simply trust my engineers and mechanics. That’s all I can
do in that situation – as well as creating a positive atmosphere of
course. When it comes to me: These days, I am much more chilled when I
fail. It comes with success and with experience of how to handle
failure. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often, but I have a
good method for getting out of it quickly. After all, there isn’t
usually much time between two races. So it doesn’t do any good if you
spend three days burying your head in the sand. Rather, after you have
left the racetrack, you need to shrug it off and say to yourself:
Things turned out that way and next time things will be better again.
I always try to remain very positive.”

 

In January it was the class win at Daytona, now your first DTM
win and leading the championship, on top of this, iconic races such
as Le Mans and the 24 Hours Nürburgring are planned in addition to
the DTM. Has this been the perfect year for you so far?

 

Eng: “It’s not only the results that have made this year an absolute
dream. I’m contesting the DTM and am in action in the main events in
the GT works commitments – that alone is fantastic. The fact that we
started the year with the class win at Daytona was incredibly cool. I
hope that the story isn’t over yet. We still have two very important
24-hour races in direct succession, but first things first, we are
focussed on Misano.”

 

What is your objective for Misano and the rest of the season?

 

Eng: “I think that in the DTM, you just need to try to be
consistently up there at the front and consistently picking up points.
You don’t necessarily have to win every race, you just need to always
be in the top four or top five. It is also important to pick up points
in qualifying. That is my primary objective.”

 

How do you achieve it?

 

Eng: “By keeping on doing what we have been doing, and not trying to
reinvent the wheel, rather focussing on the basics, which is good
preparation and a simple, but confident approach to the races.”