Engstler: “I hope FIA does the right thing”
The large German team Liqui Moly Team Engstler made their first full FIA World Touring Car Championship season this year. Apart from the two cars in the WTCC, for Franz Engstler and Andrey Romanov, the team runs six more racing cars around the world. TouringCarTimes met up with team owner and driver Franz Engstler for an interview about his team and the WTCC.
How has your first full WTCC-season been so far?
“We are very satisfied with our performance so far. We haven’t had any technical problems or retirements due to that. We are running two BMW 320si’s in the WTCC, three BMW 320i’s in the German ProCar, two BMW 320i’s in the ATCC and we are also running a BMW Z4 in the BF Goodrich Endurance Championship.
This big program has a big impact on the team and apart from the racing we also have six show cars around the world, shared between Frankfurt and Bangkok. The logistical and organizational challenges are much bigger than most fans imagine.”
How was the pre-season?
“We had a very tight schedule to build new cars in. As we are racing in Procar and ATCC as well, we had twice as much work to cope with. We bought Schnitzer’s test car from last year and we upgraded it to 2008 specification. The second car was build completely new.
All of the equipment had to be sent to Curitiba in February, as you can imagine, there wasn’t much time left for testing. The containers from Macau weren’t back in Germany until the beginning of January, which meant that there were only three weeks left for the team to build two cars and check the equipment.
Because all of this, we felt that the season started in Europe for our part. Our first year is a year of learning.”
Do you have any support from BMW?
“We get very good support from them. If we have any problems or questions, somebody from BMW gets over to help, regardless if the problem is an engine problem or a chassis problem. Every day a engineer visits us to check if everything is okay. BMW is always very keen on keeping their customers satisfied.”
Why are you racing BMW’s as you own an Alfa Romeo-dealership and tuning company?
“When I raced in DTM in the 90’s, I started thinking what I was going to do after racing. Concentrating solely on racing was a risk. Every weekend something could happen to me, so my family and myself needed something, something that would give us some assurance in the long term. At that time, all BMW dealerships in our region were already divided.
So I contacted Alfa Romeo. Motorsport and business are two different things. I have worked with BMW for 18 years. I could have bought two Alfa Romeo 156’s in S2000 specification, but why should I stop such a strong partnership? The contact I have with BMW is extremely good, just like the support. I live only 100 kilometers from Munich and I can visit the factory any time I want and have look if there are any news.”
You are 46 years old which makes you the oldest rookie the WTCC has ever seen.
“I see myself as a help to the team, to find their place in the WTCC faster. I want to help young drivers like Andrei Romanov, to develop themselves within international motorsport. With my experience I can give them useful tips, on the setup of the car for instance.
Apart from that we also have a much promising driver from Asia: Jack Lemvard. We want to let him grow with care. Continuity is very important for a team. The best example of that is Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. I have for example worked with my engineers for many years. Trust has to grow and that is very important for me.”
What about the future and where do you see yourself in the project further ahead?
“This is a long term project. Together with our strong partner Liqui Moly we have planned three years for the WTCC-project. However, in these times, nothing is certain in motorsport. Especially with the financial “crisis” and the high oil prices. Entering WTCC for just one year is not usefull from a business point of view.
The high start up costs can’t be depreciated in just one year. Among these costs we have the cars, the infrastructure and the logistics. I want to support the team as a driver in the first two years of the project and after that change to a solely management role.”
The German series, ADAC Procar, is not as well known as BTCC and STCC. Could that be changed?
“You have to look at that in two ways. Firstly, we are a big country with a lot of inhabitants and motorsport fans. However, in Germany there is a flood of racing series and events. For a privateer team it should be possible nationally to race a car for several years. It should be possible in a national series. A couple of years ago we had 40-42 cars on the grid. However, in my opinion the new regulations in Procar were two years too late.
Apart from that we needed a good support package or be part of a strong support package. That could be with the DTM, WTCC or FIA GT. There has to be other countries in it. In that case you would speak of a European championship. Big sponsors want good TV air time and 1,5 – 2 days of events. We do not have that in Procar yet and getting progress without that is very hard. A lot of countries like Holland, Italy and Spain have the very same problem.”
Your last WTCC race was Monza – how did it go?
“We travelled to Monza with mixed feelings, because we knew that our biggest competitor, ProTeam Motorsport, is from Italy and their drivers know every centimeter of the track. We managed to get a good set up of the car after the first free practice and the motivation within the team got much better.
We were able to confirm our progress in qualifying by taking position three, in front of Stefano D’Aste. A good first lap was very important for me, especially not be involved in a crash, as we knew that we had been very fast in the last three races. The start went very well for me and I was able to take second place behind Corthals.
In the middle of the race I took advantage of a small error by Corthals at the exit of the Parabolica to take first place. However, because the driver in front of me, Jörg Müller, was too far away, I couldn’t use his slipstream. That gave Corthals the opportunity to overtake me again. I knew that if Corthals did not make a mistake, I could not drive away from him without a slipstream, especially since the SEAT is 25 kilos lighter compared to my car. I focused on second to score important points for the championship. It was my best result of the season.”
What are your expectations for the rest of the season?
“For me the races at Monza and at Imola were the confirmation how good our team have mastered WTCC and how fast we are. Our lack of experience isn’t a big factor anymore as it was at the start of the season.
Okayama and Macau look very positive for us, as we are very familiar with Japan and I know Macau very well. If we can bring some good luck with us, a race win would be a big success. It’s our goal to be in the top three in the drivers’ championship and in second place in the teams’ championship.”
What do you think about the future of WTCC?
“The most important thing is that we need is stable regulations. Currently we have a diesel that is too strong, nobody wins. We have two strong manufacturers with a petrol engine. The FIA is responsible for balanced weights. No manufacturer or privateer team can afford to build a new car every year. And what good would that bring? Higher costs but certainly not better racing. The focus should be on finding a fourth manufacturer, that can provide cars to privateer teams.
We can’t take the risk that the championship at one time depends on one or two manufacturers. If I was the organizer, I would want to have five competitive manufacturers, because it wouldn’t hurt too bad if one of them would want to leave. I know from several car manufacturers that they have looked at entering the WTCC. But none of them were in the situation to build a competitive diesel-car in a short period.”
What would it mean for a privateer team, like yours, if BMW goes diesel?
“First of all, it has to be said that BMW of course wants to be the number one in touring car racing. When they are forced by the FIA to enter a diesel, they will do it. For us as privateers however, it would be a bad thing. Our cars would instantly lose a lot of its value and it would be very hard to sell them after that.
It would hurt all privateer teams, regardless if they are Swedish, English or German. The teams would have to buy new cars, which is impossible for many of them. For BMW however, customer racing is very important. BMW can handle a year outside the very top of the field, but a second year under these circumstances most definitely not. That is why I hope the FIA will do the right thing.
