– Great sadness after the death of Herbert Schnitzer: The last of the four Schnitzer brothers, who owned the legendary BMW racing team, passed away peacefully at home in Freilassing surrounded by his family on Friday, his 85th birthday.
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“Now all three are together, Dieter and Charly, gone too soon,” writes ex-racing driver Christian Menzel, who shows a photo of Herbert Schnitzer with his two half-brothers Charly and Dieter Lamm on Instagram. “For me, Schnitzer was BMW; they lived the brand’s values and authentically conveyed them to all fans. One of the most successful motorsport teams ever and an unattainable team spirit, role models.”
The Schnitzer name has shaped BMW motorsport history like no other. For over half a century, Schnitzer Motorsport and BMW were together on the world’s racetracks, celebrating magnificent successes in various categories.
Herbert Schnitzer: How the success story began
It all began in the 1950s in Freilassing: Herbert Schnitzer, like his brother Josef, two years his senior, learned the automotive trade from his stepfather Karl Lamm. In 1963, he and Josef Schnitzer bought a crash-damaged Fiat, which they repaired themselves and used in races.
It was the birth of motorsport activities at Schnitzer. While Josef pursued his racing career, brother Herbert focused on sales: in 1964, Schnitzer became a distributor for new and used BMW cars. He ensured that the team and the car dealership ran perfectly.
Two years later, Josef Schnitzer became German Touring Car Champion in a BMW 2000ti tuned by him, bringing the first title to Freilassing. After that, the team was unstoppable, and the success story took its course.
Charly Lamm joins, tragedy for brother Josef
In 1971, Charly Lamm – Herbert Schnitzer’s half-brother – joined the team: initially, the then 16-year-old supported the team with auxiliary services, then he became team manager and chief decision-maker. Lamm’s twin brother Dieter Lamm also played an important role: until his death in 2014, he was responsible for technical operations and logistics.
They even built Toyota engines for rally use and helped Jacques Laffite win the 1975 Formula 2 European Championship title with a custom Schnitzer engine based on a BMW powerplant. However, in 1978, a tragedy shook the family: Herbert’s brother Josef was fatally injured in an unavoidable traffic accident while traveling to Zolder.
In the 1980s, Schnitzer became European Touring Car Champion three times. At this time, the series of a total of nine victories in touring car races on the “Guia Circuit” in Macau also began.
Overall Le Mans victory as an absolute highlight
Between 1989 and 2010, Schnitzer triumphed five times at the Nürburgring 24-hour race, playing a significant role in BMW being the record winner of this endurance classic to this day. The same applies to the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race, which Schnitzer also won five times starting in 1985.
In addition, there are the titles with the Italian Roberto Ravaglia in the 1987 World Touring Car Championship and 1989 DTM, as well as with the German Joachim Winkelhock in 1995 and the Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto in 1998 in the German Super Touring Car Championship.
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Photo gallery: All BMW cars in DTM history since 1984
Among the major highlights of the partnership is the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999 with the legendary BMW V12 LMR. With this prototype designed by Williams, Schnitzer also won the Sebring 12-hour race in the same year.
DTM title, then withdrawal by BMW
In 2001, the team secured the title in the GT classification of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). From 2005 to 2009, Schnitzer competed as a BMW factory team in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), celebrating a sensational 25 victories and a total of 57 podium finishes.
After successful years in the USA, where they won the GT classification of the American Le Mans Series in 2001, and in the WTCC Touring Car World Championship, Schnitzer returned to DTM in 2012 as a factory team with BMW.
Photo gallery: Bruno Spengler’s magical 2012 DTM season
Together, they celebrated a triumphant comeback year, with the drivers’ title for Bruno Spengler, the team title for Schnitzer, and the manufacturers’ title for BMW. Schnitzer was active in DTM until 2016, with a successful record of 25 victories and 88 podium finishes, before being withdrawn by BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.
Death of Charly Lamm and dissolution
After this setback, Schnitzer continued its activities in GT sport, competing in the International GT Challenge (IGTC), among others. Unforgettable is the victory with Augusto Farfus in November 2018 at the GT World Cup in Macau. It was Charly Lamm’s last race as team principal before he handed over the team’s management to Herbert Schnitzer Junior. A few weeks later, Lamm died unexpectedly.
In 2020, Schnitzer returned to the podium of the Nürburgring 24-hour race under new leadership, securing third place with the BMW M6 GT3. A few months later came the bad news: as BMW was realigning its motorsport strategy, the partnership with Schnitzer would not be continued. Despite intensive efforts to find an investor, the team was dissolved, causing outrage among fans worldwide.
Nevertheless, the legendary team lives on not only in memory but also in the classic sector. The Schnitzer Classic team of Stefen and his son Yannik Trautwein, who acquired large parts of the inventory after the team’s demise, continues to use the old racing cars, which also touched Herbert Schnitzer.
“You loved to tell stories and anecdotes”
“When you, together with Herbert Jr., were in our workshop for the first time and saw all the vehicles and trophies, tears flowed. On both sides,” writes the team from the Black Forest on Instagram.
“You loved to tell the stories and anecdotes from your rich life – and how gladly we listened to you. Every anecdote, every memory of the wild years was a gift.” Just last year, they spent a “wonderful evening” in Freilassing with Schnitzer’s regulars’ table, which they will now carry in their hearts forever.
“The large picture of you, Josef, Charly, and Dieter hangs centrally in our workshop – and it will be there forever,” writes the team, which wants to continue revving the engines in Herbert Schnitzer’s honor.
