Philipp Eng has been a BMW M Motorsport factory driver for the last eleven years but will no longer be with the team in the 2027 season. Eleven years is a good run for any race car driver to be with the same team or manufacturer, and Eng has had a lot of success over the years with BMW.
Eng (right) and Dries Vanthoor after winning at Road America in 2025.
Eng’s connection with BMW goes back to his early days of racing. He started out in Formula BMW and won the Formula BMW World Final in 2007, which got him a test in the BMW Sauber F1 car. He’s raced in Europe in the DTM championship and GT World Challenge Europe and was also a regular here in the U.S. in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as key part of the M Hybrid V8 GTP program for the last four years.
Eng (right) with Maxime Martin (center) and Alexander Sims after winning the Spa 24 hour in 2016.
Eng has some notable wins over his BMW career. He won the Spa 24 Hour three times (2016, 2018, 2023) and also won the GTLM class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019, at the wheel of a BMW M8 GT3. Eng also had two wins with the M Hybrid V8 in IMSA GTP competition, winning at Indianapolis in 2024 with Jesse Krohn and at Road America in 2025 with Dries Vanthoor. Eng also had five podium finishes in his four-year stint in the DTM championship, including one win.
Eng was part of the winning team in the M8 GTE at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2019.
Eng will certainly land somewhere and continue to race, but he’s also started up the Eng Racing Academy, which provides track days and coaching and had their first event at the Salzburgring in mid-October. “I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported me during my eleven years at BMW M Motorsport,” he says. “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. Now it is time for me to turn my attention to new and exciting challenges. I wish BMW M Motorsport all the best for the future!
Eng won the DTM race at Zolder in 2019.
Eng’s departure means that a seat is open in the #25 M Hybrid V8 for the 2027 IMSA season. Whether BMW M Motorsport moves one of their existing drivers into that seat or hires someone new remains to be seen.
—David Haueter
[Photos by BMW, LAT Images]