Maro Engel signed to drive Mercedes in V8 Supercars

Former DTM Mercedes driver Maro Engel is going to drive a Mercedes E63 AMG in the 2013 V8 Supercars championship for Erebus Motorsport.
“V8 Supercars gets quite a lot of coverage in Europe so I was well aware of the category and I followed it. It’s always been known for very close racing and that is something we look at from Europe in a little bit of an envious way because our touring car racing sometimes lacks those overtaking mauvers. It is impressive to see how closely the cars follow each other,” said Engel.

The German got his first test with a V8 Supercar in December and he expects a steep learning curve for the 2013 season.
“In December I tested the 2012 car and it was a great experience. The car was really fun to drive; I had great feedback out on track and heightened my desire to be part of this category. This year will be a steep learning curve for me, that’s for sure, but I’m really looking forward to learning from my team and team mates. I’m definitely coming over to be successful however I think we have to appreciate that this will take some time,” said Engel.

Engel drove two races for Erebus Motorsport in the Australian GT3 Championship last year, winning on his debut behind the wheel of a Mercedes SLS GT3, and team CEO Ryan Maddison is confident on his choice of driver for V8 Supercars.
“Maro has four years of experience as a Mercedes-Benz factory driver in the DTM series and has produced a number of standout performances including his win with Erebus Motorsport at Phillip Island last year.

“We undertook extensive due diligence on all levels and we believe that Maro’s desire to learn the V8 category, his professionalism and his motivation will strengthen our 2013 driver line-up which includes Lee Holdsworth and Tim Slade. The result is that we are entering this year’s V8 Supercars Championship with three drivers who we are not only very experienced, but that are excellent team ambassadors,” said Maddison.