Gottschalk is a trained engineer for vehicle technology. He made his first experiences in rally motorsport in 1995 and entered the German Rally Championship from 1997, competing regularly and successfully in domestic and international rally events in the years that followed. Before his Dakar debut, he also partnered Andreas Aigner in the World Rally Championship and Armin Kremer in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
Gottschalk made his Dakar debut in 2007 as navigator to compatriot Dieter Depping in the truck category, the pair finishing 26th overall. The 2008 Dakar was cancelled due to security concerns, but Depping and Gottschalk competed in the replacement 2008 Central Europe Rally, finishing third overall in the car category in a factory Volkswagen Touareg.
For the Dakar's inaugural move to South America in 2009, Depping and Gottschalk remained with the factory Volkswagen team. They finished sixth overall, nearly nine hours behind their victorious teammates Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz.
Gottschalk changed driving partners for the 2010 Dakar, teaming with Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. The pairing proved immediately competitive, winning four stages and finishing runners-up to Volkswagen teammates Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz by just over two minutes — an extremely narrow margin over a multi-week desert rally.
Gottschalk and Al-Attiyah returned for 2011 with heightened ambition. They assumed the lead after winning the eighth stage. When Sainz and Cruz encountered problems in the eleventh stage, Gottschalk and Al-Attiyah opened a lead of over 50 minutes that they maintained to the finish, winning the rally. It was the pair's first Dakar victory together.
After the 2011 win, Gottschalk chose not to return to defend his title. Instead, he became co-driver to young German driver Sepp Wiegand in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2012.
He returned to the Dakar in 2013, this time partnered with Carlos Sainz in the new Qatar Red Bull team. They won the opening stage of the rally but were forced to retire after engine problems halted them on the sixth stage.
In 2018, Gottschalk paired with Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and won the Silk Way Rally. The partnership proved productive, and the two continued working together in subsequent cross-country events.
In 2025, Gottschalk and Al-Rajhi won the Dakar Rally — Gottschalk's second Dakar title and the first for Al-Rajhi as a driver. Gottschalk later described the event as his toughest Dakar yet, noting it was his 17th attempt at the event and that consistent, error-free navigation had been the deciding factor in their victory.
In the period following the 2025 win, Gottschalk and Al-Rajhi were also leading the FIA World Baja Cup, having won the opening round in Saudi Arabia.
Gottschalk occupies a rare position in cross-country rally history as a two-time Dakar winner with two different drivers, across a span of fourteen years. His longevity in the sport — competing across the Dakar's African era, its South American relocation, and into the 2020s — reflects both his technical precision as a navigator and his adaptability across different partnerships and vehicle programmes.