Why Sabine Schmitz was The Queen of the Nurburgring

ask anyone so vested in the automotive world what they think of the Nurburgring they'll likely tell you that it's the mecca of race tracks that it's as unforgiving as challenging as Joyce and experience one could ever have in a car whilst driving at full tills that if you had to lap one track before you die it'd probably be this one it's so much more than just a race track though the character the history the Mystique about the place adds to its Legend knowing that a tractor's vast has entire Villages within it makes you realize what a special place it is kids with pure driving talent and even those with merely a passion for the sport born in this part of the world could be considered quite fortunate even if just as a passenger you'd be driven around the racetrack of race tracks from the moment you became a sentient human being this is how the story started for Sabine Schmitz raised in the town of nurburg she grew up in what was essentially the center of the automotive world and she loved everything about it she competed and won in various events around big ring as a teenager before branching out into other areas of the motor racing World tracing back to the spa 24 hours in 1989 her years at the Nurburgring where she honed her skills and mastered her knowledge of the green hell and subsequent connections with BMW led to her traveling to South Africa to compete in the South African Touring Car Championship slightly odd perhaps giving Europe's vast array of touring car championships but in any case South Africa did and still kinda does have a very underrated racing scene this couple with Sabine having to learn a new batch of tracks as well as getting acquainted with the super touring formula of cars meant that there were struggles but these frankly were nothing not compared to the apparent chauvinistic attitude and the paddock Sabine would lap faster than some of these guys leading them to question what was wrong with the car when it was discovered that no there wasn't anything wrong with the car it was just that she was faster they reacted read between the lines on that one there was even one instance which was forced off the track at Kalani into a crash that broke multiple Burns in her body the initial fine for the driver around about 100 pounds in today's money finishing last and the standings that year wasn't totally brilliant on paper one must admit regardless of whether half the paddock were living in 1850 the results weren't there and she wouldn't return for the 96th season but this did not spell the end of her racing exploits but from it she returned to Germany to run a hotel bar with her husband whilst also continuing to run in events at the Nova Green including the 24-hour race which to this day remains one of the toughest if not the toughest race in the entire world 24-hour races are tricky enough on their own in 2023 but back in the 1990s it was a bit of a different Beast unlike today where you can run flat out the entire way in the past you had to manage the brakes the gearbox the tires the fuel the everything and even then there was no guarantee you would make it to the end Lester driver error happens a random mechanical failure beyond your control pops up or a giant meteor lands in front of you ruining your chances everything had to be perfect to even get a sniff at victory in 1996 she took part in the event alongside Johannes Shy's and Hans vidman in an M3 BMW 24 hours after the green flag fell the chicken was waived to greet the winner of the race the number 10 M3 crossed the line to win the race and made Sabine Schmitz the first woman to win the Nurburgring 24-hour race a year later she would win the race again and the following year she would win the Nurburgring Endurance Championship then known as the voodoo and that she competed sporadically in the 24 hour for the next couple of decades with results including a win in class in 2015. second in class in 2009 and third outright in 2008 achieving these results in one of the toughest races in the calendar year was remarkable especially going up against full-on professionals who drive these Beasts for a living for sure Sabine was a specialist of the nordstriper giving her nicknames such as the fastest taxi driver in the world and the queen of the Nurburgring but her weapon of choice when tackling this ribbon of tarmac was more often than not BMW's ring taxi a standard M5 nothing too fancy but it is fitted with four seats which gives space for a specialist driver and three paying customers Keen to explore the green hell in the case of Sabine it would have been three terrified paying customers as she would explore every inch of tarmac on that Eiffel mountain range sometimes what sideways sometimes what's on the phone 2001 was a different time but almost always with a smile on her face that was the thing about Sabine driving talent for sure made her a star but it was her personality that people adored with the motor racing Paddock being full of ego and pride she exhibited none of that it was welcoming to see that she was fun though I mean she flew helicopters and ran pubs drifted cars and stuff boring people don't do that I don't do that she also loved animals further adding to her charm of all the animals however it would be an orangutan that would have quite the influence on her worldwide recognition the Top Gear test track has eight Corners Silverstone which is a big Grand Prix circuit has 12 Corners the Nurburgring has a 147 corners by the mid-2000s Top Gear was booming in popularity worldwide and for season 5 a segment featuring Jeremy Clarkson saw him attempt to let the norch lifer in the diesel Jaguar S-Type in 10 minutes by his own admission for a racing driver it might not be tricky but for a seven foot curly head Minister Society um yeah so a mental was drafted in as you may have guessed it was Sabine it was through this segment that more of the world came to know who this person was as she mentored Clarkson around the green hell with a hint of bullying here and there foreign style is really funny in the end Jason went below the 10 minute barrier he was doubtless pleased with himself but then Sabine laid down the gauntlet I tell you something I do that lap time in the van I show you what's really fast level okay she went out she did a lap she only needed the one it was a lap time that was 47 seconds faster than Jeremy who had been pouncing around lap after lap for two full days her speed was such that the camera car couldn't keep up with her and they had to draft in a Jaguar test driver who was in the faster S-Type R keep in mind just to be able to keep up with her when all was said and done the segment aired and the whole world came to know Sabine it earned her Legions of fans all over and they were undoubtedly pleased to see her return in the next series for the production office remembered something that she said I tell you something I do that lap time in a van in a van you say in under 10 minutes you reckon the team rocked up with the Ford Transit and expectations way too high for this type of thing sub 10 minutes and a diesel is one thing but a Transit that's also a diesel that's a bit much evidently it was but not for lack of trying getting to within eight seconds of the team in a barrier to this day it remains an iconic moment in the show's history she made another appearance in series 11 as part of a skit involving D motor a German motoring show where Sabine was one of the presenters alongside Carson Von reyson and Tim Shrek in 2015 after the firing of Jeremy Clarkson she was announced as one of the new presenters for the new format Top Gear her presence being a notable ray of sunshine especially when compared to the chasm of nastiness known as Chris Evans who was leading the new format thankfully not for very long as the years Drew on she continued to partake in events around the Nurburgring from the 24-hour races to the endurance series even in the world Touring Car Championship she stopped doing taxi riots back in 2011 but did continue to make appearances on Top Gear until 2020. and it was around this time where she revealed that she had been suffering from an extremely persistent form of cancer since 2017. she sought treatment and her condition was improving but then she had relapsed on the 16th of March 2021 the world had lost Sabine Schmitz it's been two years now since her passing and it's still hard to comprehend in a way it almost feels as if part of the soul of the green hell is gone somehow tributes came from all across the world colleagues fellow races bands the effects was felt all over tributes included from the Nurburgring who held an event in her honor and with universal approval renamed the first corner of the nordstriper in her honor I made mention at the start of the video how the Nurburgring was more than just a race track well in a similar way Sabine was more than just a racing driver more than a TV personality and that Shone through with the legions of fancy earned her following even to this day even though now that she's gone a Legend Continues to live on she will forever be the queen of the Nurburgring [Music] [Music] laughs foreign [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Josh Revell

Views: 197,106

Keywords: f1, formula 1, nurburgring, nurburgring nordschleife, nordschleife, sabine schmitz, sabine reck, sabine schmitz top gear, nurburgring top gear, top gear

Id: FGo7L6cF2ZA

Length: 9min 59sec (599 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 21 2023