Dieter Glemser passed away in the night to 10 June 2026 at the age of 87. In the 1960s, Glemser was a member of the Mercedes-Benz works team, achieving numerous national and international successes with the famous “Racing Fintails” 220 SE (W 111) and 300 SE (W 112). Even after retiring from active racing, having secured almost one hundred victories in total, Glemser remained closely associated with the Mercedes-Benz brand.

Dieter Glemser was born in Kirchheim/Teck on 28 June 1938. He became a motorsport enthusiast at an early age: his career behind the wheel began with him participating in the Schorndorf hillclimb in 1960 – not even 30 kilometres from the headquarters of what was then Daimler-Benz AG. Numerous class victories in various hillclimbs and circuit races followed.

Mercedes-Benz Race Director Karl Kling soon recruited him for the works team. In 1963, Dieter Glemser and co-driver Martin Braungart immediately secured victory in the Poland Rally with a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE (W 111), and went on to finish second in both the German Rally and the Argentinean Grand Prix for touring cars. Mercedes-Benz triumphed in Argentina again the next year. During the team’s one-two-three finish, achieved by Eugen Böhringer/Klaus Kaiser, Dieter Glemser/Martin Braungart and Ewy Rosqvist/Eva-Maria Falk, Glemser once again took second place. Covering approximately 3,800 kilometres, the endurance race is regarded as one of the toughest motorsport events of its time.

These successes gave Glemser access to cockpits of other manufacturers. After a stint with Porsche, Glemser joined Ford at the end of the 1960s, racing alongside teammates including Jochen Mass and Klaus Kaiser. On occasion, Glemser shared a cockpit with three-time Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart. His analytical skills helped the team to improve and refine their racing cars. Glemser achieved numerous victories and won the 1971 European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) title in a Ford Capri RS 2600.

The pinnacle of the Swabian’s career was in 1972 when he won the 24 Hours of Spa–Francorchamps together with Àlex Soler-Roig, and with the victories at the German Racing Championship in 1973 and 1974. However, following a serious accident caused by a tyre failure at the Macau/South-East China touring car race in November 1974, he ended his active racing career.

Glemser continued to be involved in motorsport. He used his expertise and great experience to support teams and younger racing drivers, helping them to harmonise skill, technology and driving ability. He worked for a time as Team Manager of Ford’s Zakspeed and also served as an adviser and mentor in motorsport for Renault and Ford, among others. From 1986 on, he organised the new Porsche 944 Turbo Cup for Porsche.

Starting in 1990, Dieter Glemser spent ten years as a member of the Mercedes-Benz motorsport team, where he was responsible for organisational matters as head of the department. From 2001 to 2008, he did freelance work for Mercedes-AMG and what was then DaimlerChrysler AG and, from 2007 on, provided sports driving and driver safety training programmes for what was then Daimler AG. “Speeddays”, which he established in Hockenheim, proved particularly popular, with experienced racing drivers, including Glemser himself, acquainting customers with the ideal racing line twice a year with high-performance sports cars.

Dieter Glemser was also widely known and highly regarded as a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz Classic. The seasoned driver regularly took the wheel of historic vehicles from various eras of the brand at classic motoring events, inspiring audiences with his appearances. This is how many people will remember him.