Philipp Eng will replace Stefano Coletti at Romeo Ferraris in this year’s PURE ETCR electric touring car series, getting behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Giulia ETCR at next month’s Copenhagen street race.
Austrian racer Eng, 31, competed in three seasons in the DTM as a factory BMW driver from 2018 to 2020, picking up a race victory in 2019 when he ended the year sixth overall in the standings.
Eng has remained with BMW in 2021, moving to the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, and he will now dovetail his campaign in North America with outings in ETCR, starting with the street race in Denmark next month.
The Salzburg racer is no stranger to electric motorsport, as he has acted as BMW’s official reserve driver in Formula E in the current season.
“I am really looking forward to race with the Giulia ETCR by Romeo Ferraris in the PURE ETCR,” said Eng. “The car looks amazing and I can’t wait to drive it for the first time, to test it and to get prepared for our first race together in Copenhagen.
“I’m very excited to race in this new series and I’m sure it will be a successful experience for both sides.
“I’ll do my best for the team and I can’t wait to be on track. I want to thank Michela [Cerruti] for the trust in me, as well BMW M Motorsport for giving me the chance to race in this championship”.
Michela Cerruti, Romeo Ferraris Operations Manager, admits that Eng won’t have much time to get up to speed with the car before the next event in Copenhagen on 7 – 8 August.
“I am delighted to welcome Philipp Eng to our team for the PURE ETCR project,” said Cerruti. “He is a racer that I have highly valued since we were both racing for BMW and I am sure he will contribute a lot to our project.
“We don’t have much time before Copenhagen to introduce him to the car, but the fact that the Danish circuit will be a new circuit for everyone will certainly level the values on the field.”
Eng will team up with Oliver Webb, Rodrigo Baptista and Luca Filippi at Romeo Ferraris.