BMW M Motorsport and Philipp Eng to part ways after eleven years as works contract ends
BMW M Motorsport and Philipp Eng have agreed not to renew the Austrian's works driver contract, ending an eleven-year partnership at the close of the 2026 season.
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What Happened
After eleven successful years, the partnership between BMW M Motorsport and Philipp Eng (AUT) is coming to an end. Both parties have agreed not to renew the works driver contract, which expires at the end of the 2026 season, and Eng will be taking on new challenges in the future. In GT racing the Austrian celebrated many major successes for BMW M Motorsport, including three overall victories at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and a GTLM class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA). Since 2023 he has been a key member of the driver line-up for the BMW M Hybrid V8, in which he has secured two victories.
Competed in the Formula BMW junior racing series, already part of the BMW M Motorsport family in his youth.
Triumphed at the Formula BMW World Final, which earned him a test drive in the BMW Sauber F1 Team's Formula 1 car the following year.
Joined BMW M Motorsport as a works driver and won the Spa-Francorchamps endurance classic in the ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3.
Two further overall victories at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, in 2018 and 2023; in 2019 he also won at Daytona in the BMW M8 GTE for BMW M Team RLL.
His works driver contract expires at the end of the 2026 season; from 2027, BMW M Motorsport and Eng go their separate ways.
- Four seasons, 72 races, one victory and five podium finishes
- Four seasons, two victories and five podium finishes, two of them in the current season
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Won in 2016 with the ROWE Racing BMW M6 GT3, then again in 2018 and 2023.
“I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Philipp Eng for eleven successful years together at BMW M Motorsport. Through his numerous major victories in GT racing, Philipp has established himself as one of the world's top drivers in this category. At the same time, from 2023 onwards, he has regularly demonstrated his class at the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8. In the IMSA Series, he was a key component over four seasons in our development into a top team that can now consistently compete for victories and podium places. I wish Philipp all the best for the next stage of his career and look forward to seeing him again soon at the racetrack.”
“I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me during my eleven years at BMW M Motorsport. It has been a fantastic time! Over the years, I've made many friends, and I'm very grateful for that. I'm delighted to have won races in every series I've competed in – be it the DTM, the IMSA Series, the GT World Challenge or the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Particular highlights were, of course, my three victories at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and my success at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Now it is time for me to turn my attention to new and exciting challenges.”
Previously from BMW
BMW's prototype programme has been in the news in the days before this announcement: at the 6 Hours of Barcelona, Kevin Magnussen, Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello drove the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 from 16th on the grid to seventh, while Toyota sealed both world titles with a one-two finish. BMW's customer GT teams had just closed the GT World Challenge Europe season at Portimão, where Team WRT won the overall team championship and ROWE Racing claimed the Endurance Gold Cup titles.
- BMW M Team WRT fights from 16th to seventh in Barcelona WEC as Toyota clinches both titles
- BMW teams WRT and ROWE Racing seal GT World Challenge Europe titles at Portimão finale
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of BMW's official releases.
Why this matters
Eng is one of BMW M Motorsport's most successful works drivers, and his exit closes a stint that spanned GT racing and, since 2023, the BMW M Hybrid V8 prototype programme in the GTP class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. For followers of BMW's sports-car racing, it ends a chapter that included three overall wins at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and a class win at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Terms in This Story
- works driver
- A racing driver contracted directly by a manufacturer's motorsport division rather than hired race by race by a team.
- GT3
- A category of sports-car racing built around production-based cars prepared to a common set of regulations; the BMW M6 GT3 named in the release is such a car.
- GTP
- Grand Touring Prototype, the top prototype class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, in which the BMW M Hybrid V8 competes.
- DTM
- Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a German-based touring-car racing series.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.