The car world lost one of its icons this week when Sabine Schmitz, known as the “queen of the Nürburgring”, succumbed to the battle against cancer at the age of 51. Now, as a tribute to the first woman to win the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring (first time in 1996), there is a petition circulating that her name be given to a curve in the circuit that immortalized her.
At the time of publication of this article, practically 32 000 fans have already signed the document, which led the creators of the initiative to publish a message of thanks on social networks and say that the movement has already reached the “radar of the Nürburgring HQ”.
“Sabine's personality, hard work and talent deserve to be part of the Nürburgring's history for years to come. She was a pilot, not a founder or an architect. A bow with her name on it would be the ultimate honor; not just a sign on the corner of a building”, can be read in the same publication.
It remains to be seen whether this will be the form chosen by those responsible for the German track to honor Sabine Schmitz, but one thing is certain: few people have had as much impact on “green hell” — as it is known — as she.
Over 20,000 laps of The Ring
Sabine Schmitz grew up close to the circuit that made her famous around the world, the Nürburgring, and began to get noticed for driving one of the BMW M5 “Ring Taxi”.
It is estimated that she did more than 20,000 laps on the historic German circuit, so it is not surprising that she knew it as the “palm of her hands” and knew the names of all the turns.
But it was on television, through the “hand” of the Top Gear program, that Sabine truly took the leap to stardom: first, to “train” Jeremy Clarkson so that he could cover the 20 km of the German circuit in less than 10 minutes at the controls from a Jaguar S-Type Diesel; then, with the same timing in mind, at the controls of a Ford Transit, in an epic driving demonstration.