After becoming the first woman to win a major 24-hour race in 1996 (repeating the feat in 1997 and 2006), and having driven a Porsche 997 in the 2008 Nürburgring VLN Endurance Racing, only beaten only by Porsche Official factory teams, Sabine Schmitz made WTCC history today by becoming the first woman to score in this competition, making the most of the race at Nordschleife, a track she knows like few others.
Sabine Schimtz arrived in Nordschleife driving a Chevrolet Cruze from Münnich Motorspot (pictured below), and finished in the last scoring place (10th). A feat that takes on the contours of legend when we learn that it was his absolute debut in the WTCC and at the controls of Chevrolet Cruze, participating as a wildcar – a status intended for drivers who make sporadic participation in the championship.
NOT TO BE MISSED: Sabine Schmitz humiliates several drivers at the Nürburgring
No wonder Sabin Schmitz is dubbed the Queen of the Nürburgring. It is estimated that Sabine Schmitz will have covered the Nordschleife more than 30,000 times, around 1,200 laps per year.
One day, he was even ashamed of Jeremy Clarkson. After the former Top Gear presenter took 9m59s to complete a lap of the German circuit at the wheel of a Jaguar S-Type diesel, Sabine Schmitz told him: “I'll tell you something, I used to do that in a Ford Transit…”. He didn't but almost, 'missed' the bet by just 8 seconds.