Philipp Eng has burst like a train on his PURE ETCR arrival. The new electric touring car category has drivers like Mattias Ekström, Mikel Azcona or Jean-Karl Vernay, but the Austrian has undoubtedly been the big surprise.
Despite a late entry into the competition, replacing Stefano Coletti at Romeo Ferraris, Eng has already conquered the Danish race and finished second at the Hungaroring, Hungary, key achievements for his team that make him one of the favorites in the ground-breaking series.
“I’m very proud to be sitting here again in second place. We have done a very good job as a team; all my teammates and I worked very hard for this. We had a very opened discussion about the set-up, and this is how we boosted the car, so I’m very proud,” said the Austrian after the good weekend on Hungarian soil.
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Since his arrival at PURE ETCR, Eng has expressed his motivation to be in front of the steering wheel of the Giulia ETCR. ” I am really eager to race. The car looks amazing, I’m very excited to participate in this new series and I’m sure it will be a successful experience for both sides,” he said at the time of his presentation.
Great Experience Behind the Wheel
The 31-year-old Austrian has been successful in single-seater and sports car racing, earning victories at the 24 Hours of Spa and Daytona. He started karting back in 2003, participating in Intercontinental A Junior karting, where he raced the Andrea Margutti Trophy and the Italian Open Masters, finishing in 18th place.
Formula BMW and Formula 3
Eng made his motorsport debut for ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg in the Formula BMW ADAC series in 2006, finishing 10th. He also competed in one round of the British Carlin Motorsport series at Silverstone, finishing 14th.
He continued on in the ADAC series in 2007, and ended up finishing third in the championship, behind the Eifelland Racing team cars of Jens Klingmann and Daniel Campos-Hull, who won twelve of the eighteen races disputed. Eng scored a victory in Barcelona, but only after Klingmann received a ten-second penalty for dangerous driving.
Image: pure-etcr.com
The pilot subsequently competed at four rounds of the 2008 German Formula Three season with HS Technik, on the opening day of the season at Hockenheim. He also raced with Ombra Racing at the closing round in Oschersleben, where he finished 11th and his most important achievements were a third place, a pole position and the fastest lap.
In 2009, Eng moved up to the FIA Formula Two Championship. There, he finished 8th in the championship, including a pole position victory at Brands Hatch, to claim the first win by an Austrian driver since Jo Gartner at Pau in 1983.
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He test drove in GP2 Series for Ocean Racing Technology, but remained in Formula 2 throughout 2010. In the second race of the first round at the Silverstone circuit, he started on pole position and took his second win. He went on to win two more races, improving his championship position to sixth place.
Other competitions Eng has competed include the ADAC GT Masters and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Now, the Austrian-born driver is living a sweet moment at PURE ETCR, breaking into zero-emission competitions.
Written by I Jhonattan González
