20 Facts About Sabine Schmitz

Sabine Schmitz was born in Adenau to a family in the hotel and catering business, and raised in one of the villages nestled within the Nurburgring.

Sabine Schmitz initially trained to join the same profession as her parents before choosing to begin a career in racing, working as a driver for BMW and Porsche.

Sabine Schmitz became known for being an expert on the Nurburgring circuit, being the first woman to win a major 24h race overall, and winning two victories in 24h races during the course of her driving career on the circuit.

Sabine Schmitz became a cult icon on television, following her appearance on BBC's Top Gear, making recurring appearances alongside several of the programme's presenters.

In March 2021, Schmitz died of cancer at the age of 51, following a diagnosis in late 2017.

Sabine Schmitz won in CHC and VLN race events, the VLN endurance racing championship in 1998.

Sabine Schmitz said her favourite parts of the track were the Schwedenkreuz and Fuchsrohre.

Schmitz's company, Nurburgring-based Sabine Schmitz Motorsport, offers advanced driver training and a "ring taxi" service for passengers.

Since September 2006, Sabine Schmitz co-hosted a motoring show on German television, D Motor on the DMAX TV channel.

In December 2004, Sabine Schmitz gained further recognition in the United Kingdom after appearing in the BBC television programme Top Gear with presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Sabine Schmitz did a lap in the Jaguar S-Type, and set a time of 9 minutes 12 seconds, beating him by 47 seconds.

In 2008 Sabine Schmitz featured in a Top Gear challenge of "Top Gear Vs the Germans".

In December 2015 The Daily Telegraph reported that Sabine Schmitz had been selected as a presenter on the revamped Top Gear.

Sabine Schmitz trained as a Hotelfachfrau and sommeliere.

In July 2020, Sabine Schmitz revealed via a Facebook post that she had been suffering from "an extremely persistent cancer" since late 2017.

Sabine Schmitz explained that she had sought treatment and her condition was improving, but she had relapsed and would be undergoing treatment again.

At the time of her revelation, Sabine Schmitz was still making recurring appearances on Top Gear.

Sabine Schmitz died of cancer at a hospital in Trier on 16 March 2021, aged 51.

Schmitz, competing under her married name of Sabine Reck, contested the 1995 AA Fleetcare Super Touring Championship, driving an E36 BMW super touring car for BMW SA Motorsport alongside teammates Deon Joubert and Shaun Van Der Linde.

Sabine Schmitz was consistently outqualified and outpaced by Joubert and Van Der Linde, both of whom had extensive experience of the race tracks on which the series was run.