Great mourning for Charly Lamm (obituary)
01/26/2019
Charly Lamm, a true motorsport veteran, left us completely unexpectedly after a short but serious illness on January 24, 2019 at the young age of 63.
Charly was the long-time team boss and the head of the Schnitzer-BMW team. In the 1980s, Lamm and Schnitzer virtually dominated the DTM as well as the European Touring Car Championship and World Championship. And when BMW returned to the DTM in 2012, Lamm and Schnitzer were again in charge of the brand's entries - and won all three championship titles at the first attempt.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt commented: "We received the news from the Lamm family that Charly Lamm passed away on Thursday completely unexpectedly. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Lamm family and the Schnitzer family. It is almost inconceivable that Charly is no longer with us. He had a decisive influence on racing at BMW for decades, celebrated great triumphs with his team and fascinated fans all over the world with his unique passion for racing. Losing him so suddenly is a shock and a tragedy - especially because Charly was about to start a whole new chapter in his life. We mourn the loss of an internationally respected and beloved personality who will forever be closely associated with BMW Motorsport. Thank you for everything, Charly. We will miss you immensely."
A life without racing was actually "unimaginable" for Charly! He also said this just a few weeks ago with a mischievous smile on his face as he looked back on his great career for BMW. "I wouldn't want to have missed out on so much. With willpower and with a good team and drivers, people who really give their all, you can move mountains."
Charly Lamm clearly demonstrated this once again in his farewell race in November 2018, when he won the GT World Cup in Macau with Augusto Farfus at the wheel of the Schnitzer BMW. It was Charly Lamm's last race as team principal, his last race ever and his career ended exactly as he would have wished with a magnificent victory!
I was able to get to know and appreciate Charly early on in the 1980s during races for the European Touring Car Championship at the time. How often we sat together back then and in the years that followed and discussed God and the world, or rather racing cars, races and drivers.
Charly, we have all lost a great friend and a first-class racer.
Our condolences go out to Charly Lamm's wife and his two sons.
