By Hisham Hilal | Staff Writer
1969-2021
A year later, we look back at renowned German racing driver and TV presenter Sabine Schmitz who passed away Tuesday the 16th of March 2021, aged 51, after a long struggle with cancer dating back to 2017. Often referred to as the “Queen of The Nurburgring”, she is most known for being the driver with the most experience, driving around the legendary Nordschleife track in Nurburg, 20.000 times over the course of her career which spanned three decades. She is also the only female driver to ever win the 24 hours endurance race of the Nurburgring. She rose to fame as a TV presenter after appearing on British car show Top Gear in 2004, teaching the host Jeremy Clarkson how to drive around the Nurburgring and allowing him to set a track time of 9 minutes and 59 seconds in a Jaguar S-type diesel. After that, she kept appearing on Top Gear frequently until she became a full member and co-host of the show in 2016. The driver also appeared in and hosted numerous German TV shows including, the D Motor show on DMAX TV.
Her official racing career began in 1996 in local BMW Driving Experience Challenge (CHC) and Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS), winning the latter in 1996 and 1997, driving a BMW M3 E36 Group N alongside local veteran Johannes Scheid. In 1998, she won the VLN 24 hours Nurburgring endurance Championship, becoming the first and only woman to do so. In 2006, she again entered the VLN Nurburgring endurance series as part of the Land Motorsport team, driving a Porsche 997 alongside Klaus Abbelen as car number 97. In 2008, the team finished a strong third in the 24 hour championship. The Queen of The Nurburgring has driven around the track more than 20,000 times, increasing by approximately 1,200 times per year, which made her synonymous with the Nordschleife. After taking a break from racing to focus more on her TV career, the driver started her own Nurburg based company Sabine Schmitz Motorsport which offers advanced driver training and a “ring taxi” service for passengers.
Sabine Schmitz will always be remembered as one of the all-time best racing drivers, a legend on the track and a much loved TV personality. Her speed and consistency made her a champion, and her charisma, personality and sense of humour made her loved the world over. Her legacy will forever remain as the woman who influenced generations of motorsport enthusiasts around the globe.