Nurburgring Queen Sabine Schmitz Finished Her Last Race, the World Mourns

The world of motorsports is mourning today after learning that Sabine Schmitz, the beloved Queen of the Nürburgring, has passed away, age 51, after years of fighting off cancer. No official announcements have been made on behalf of her team just yet, but already people who have been close to her and worked with her are expressing their regrets online and bidding her farewell.

To this day, she is the only woman to have won a 24 Hours race on the "Green Hell," and there are probably few people who can say that they have done more laps on the famous German circuit than she has. She has also been featured on Top Gear many times, and one of her most memorable moments for me was when she took Richard Hammond for a lap in a van while aiming to break another record.

She did a full lap of the 'Ring in a Ford Transit diesel van in just 10 minutes and 8 seconds. This was back in 2004, and when Hammond asked her how many laps of the track she had done until then, her answer was "14 maybe 15 thousand". So 17 years ago, if you do the math, considering an average lap time of 9 minutes, she had already spent 2,000 hours on the Green Hell, noting that "I can't count how many times I've had a crash here." Imagine how many more laps she's managed to put in since then.

Sabine has been fighting her illness for several years now, and she has been less and less active to deal with it. If you ever had someone fighting this terrible disease, you will probably agree that she is in a better place now. Thank you, Sabine, for inspiring a whole generation of automotive enthusiasts, thank you for always having a smile on your face and tackling every corner ahead with enthusiasm! This is how we will always remember you.