Miguel Sánchez
Since 1970, the 48 Hours of the Nürburgring have been held 24 times. An endurance test in which registration is free even for non-professionals. Established as one of the key events on the calendar of the German circuit, this year's edition has been able to be convened even in a pandemic situation. However, the grid scheduled for this coming June will have a sad air, since the pilot of Frikadelli Racing aboard his Porsche 911 GT3. We talk about a legend at the Nürburgring: the recently deceased Sabine Schimitz.
Double winner of this test during the nineties, Sabine Schimitz passed away at the age of 51 after not having overcome a cancer that she had faced since 2017. A great loss for the day to day of the Green Belt, since his figure went beyond racing to live on the circuit throughout the year. In fact, his place of birth, upbringing and life is just a few kilometers from it: the village of Adenau, where his family still runs the hotel where many pilots have celebrated their sporting successes.
Inspired perhaps by that same environment, Sabine Schmitz had a profound fascination for drawing from a young age. Nurburgring. So much so that his first return to it was on a bicycle, which he replaced as soon as he could with his mother's car. A BMW 316i with which she learned to drive as a teenager, becoming so proficient that she even gave lessons to her driving instructor on how to change gears faster. A prodigy of piloting that he did more than 30.000 laps of the German track, which represents some 600.000 kilometers to the race.
SABINE SCHMITZ. A LIFETIME UNITED WITH NÜRBURGRING
Linked to brands such as BMW or Porsche, Sabine Schmitz was one of the first female drivers to reach the top of the German motor scene. Endowed with great leadership ability, He was able to lead his BMW M3 Group N to absolute victory in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in 1996 and 1997. In addition, he also reaped notable results in other editions, such as when in 2008 he finished third aboard his Porsche 911. A track record with which to finish off his leading and regular participation in the endurance series held at the Nürburgring under the name Nürburgring Langstrecken Series (VLN) as well as BMW endurance races on the same circuit.
In fact, his association with this brand is of such caliber that his nickname of "The Nürburgring taxi driver" he achieved it by piloting the BMW M3 with which worked daily on the Ring Taxi service. Positioned as a co-pilot, one could take an impressive reconnaissance lap with Sabine Schmitz at the controls. Undoubtedly, a master class on how to defend oneself on this route, an activity that led her to be a key figure in the daily life of the place. Something that she also completed by hosting motor racing fans who had come to such a revered place, which she did thanks to the hotel she ran with her husband, where she also exercised her skills as a sumellier.
A whole character that of Sabine Schmitz, capable of giving off a charm that catapulted her to be one of the presenters of the British edition of Top GearA stage in which she was a few seconds away from completing the Nürburgring in less than ten minutes aboard a Ford Transit diesel van, one of the challenges in which this German pilot showed that she had a special gift for racing since she was a child. Sadly today, far from celebrating a new success, we look back on his recent passing last week. A great loss for the daily life of this temple of world motorsport.
PHOTOS: FRIKADELLI RACING
