Throw-back to maiden Nordschleife victory: Historic livery for BMW Team Schnitzer BMW M6 GT3.

Munich. BMW Team Schnitzer can look back on an impressive
history at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER). Team principal Charly
Lamm’s (GER) crew has won the endurance classic in the Eifel
Mountains five times in the past. To mark the team’s return to the
“Green Hell” this season, the number 43 BMW M6 GT3 will sport a
special, historic design.

 

BMW Team Schnitzer wrote the first chapter of its glorious history at
the Nürburgring 24 Hours back in 1989. The team from Freilassing (GER)
claimed its first overall victory at the endurance classic on the
Nordschleife in the same year as it won its maiden DTM title. After
143 laps of racing, eventual DTM champion Roberto Ravaglia, Emanuele
Pirro (both ITA) and Fabien Giroix (FRA) crossed the finish line first
in the iconic BMW M3 E30. In memory of this success BMW Team Schnitzer
will return to the Eifel track in 2017 with one of the two BMW M6 GT3s
sporting the same historic design as the winning car from 1989.

This is a particularly special honour for Charly Lamm, who was team
principal when BMW Team Schnitzer claimed its first major Nordschleife
success – a role he still occupies today: “BMW Motorsport has a big
tradition in motor racing, and we have been fortunate to work together
for many decades. The historic livery on the BMW M6 GT3 is a nice
throw-back to our first victory – one we are very proud of. The
stripes in the classic BMW Motorsport colours, in particular, evoke a
lot of memories among the many BMW fans in the Eifel region and give
us extra motivation to do everything in our power to get a good result
on our return to the Nordschleife.”

Lamm still has fond memories of that first victory in 1989: “We were
competing in both the DTM and the 24-hour race on the same weekend.
Our drivers did a perfect job, as did the entire team. It was a
fantastic race and a really emotional experience for the whole team.”

Just two years later, BMW Team Schnitzer added a second success. In
1991, Armin Hahne, Joachim Winkelhock (both GER) and Kris Nissen (DEN)
were victorious – again at the wheel of the BMW M3 E30, which took
overall victory in the four consecutive years from 1989 to 1992. The
car remains by far the most successful touring car ever fielded by BMW
Motorsport. It made its DTM debut in 1987 and propelled Eric van de
Poele (BEL) to the title at the first attempt. Ravaglia was also
crowned world touring car champion with the BMW M3 E30 in the same
year. In total, the car has 41 DTM race wins to its name.

BMW Team Schnitzer claimed overall victory at the Nürburgring 24
Hours on a further three occasions: in 2004 and 2005 with the BMW M3
GTR and most recently with the BMW M3 GT2 in 2010. In 2017, the team
lines up with two BMW M6 GT3s and top-class drivers. Reigning DTM
champion Marco Wittmann (GER) will be joined by fellow DTM drivers
Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Tom Blomqvist (GBR). Also in action will be
BMW works drivers Martin Tomczyk (GER) and António Félix da Costa
(POR), as well as two newcomers to the BMW fold, Timo Scheider (GER)
and Alex Lynn (GBR).

Farfus, Félix da Costa, Scheider and Lynn will share the driving
duties in the car with the historic livery. Fans will get their first
glimpse of this very special BMW M6 GT3 in action this weekend, at the
qualifying race for the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The 45th
staging of the classic endurance race will take place on
27th and 28th May 2017.