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Obituary: Sabine Schmitz

Daredevil professional German racing driver who brought star quality to 'Top Gear' after Jeremy Clarkson left

CHARISMA: Sabine Schmitz. Photo: PA Expand

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CHARISMA: Sabine Schmitz. Photo: PA

CHARISMA: Sabine Schmitz. Photo: PA

CHARISMA: Sabine Schmitz. Photo: PA

Sabine Schmitz, who has died of cancer aged 51, was a daredevil professional racing driver known as the "Queen of the Nürburgring" who became a popular member of the BBC's new-look Top Gear presenting team in 2016 following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

She had first appeared on British television screens in 2002, taking Clarkson on a terrifying spin around the Nürburgring in a BMW M5 "ring taxi", in Jeremy Clarkson: Meets the Neighbours.

Two years later she made her first appearance on Top Gear, beating Clarkson in a time trial around the Nürburgring by 47 seconds, before telling him that she could drive the track faster in a van than he could in a Jaguar S-Type. Top Gear then sent her round the track in a Ford Transit, and she missed beating Clarkson's time by just nine seconds.

After Clarkson's suspension by the BBC in March 2015 following a violent incident in a hotel, The Guardian proposed Clarkson be replaced by Schmitz, on the grounds that not only did she know a lot about cars, but also "she is both German and a woman, a combination of traits so alien to the majority of Top Gear viewers that the whole show would probably self-destruct within an hour of her taking the job".

In fact, she proved to be one of the stars of the show when it was relaunched in 2016, hosted originally by Chris Evans. Ahead of the first episode, fans got a glimpse of what to expect when in January Evans was photographed throwing up after a spin in an Audi R8 V10 driven by Schmitz - an incident dubbed ''car-sick-gate" by the press.

While Evans left the show after the first series following negative feedback, Schmitz remained a presenter until 2020, her sunny disposition, good looks, skill on the track and game willingness to try anything making her a great favourite with viewers.

Sabine Schmitz was born in Nürburg, Germany, on May 14, 1969, next door to the Nürburgring, where her parents owned a hotel next to the race track. She was six months old when she first drove the circuit (albeit in the back seat of her father's car), and from the age of 13 knew she wanted to be a racing driver. She did her first lap behind the wheel, in her mother's BMW, at 17.

She and her three sisters all started racing, but it was only Sabine who continued professionally. She was also a helicopter pilot, and co-owner of a bar-restaurant in Nürburg until 2003, when she decided to focus on racing full-time.

Her first serious win came in 1996 when she and her co-driver Johannes Scheid won the 24 Hours Nürburgring, making her the first woman to win a major 24-hour endurance race. When they repeated the feat in 1997, she became known in Germany as the "Queen of the Ring". Altogether she entered 89 races, winning five and appearing on the podium for 16.

At the same time she became infamous as "the fastest taxi driver in the world" as one of two BMW M5 "ring taxi" drivers, shuttling fans around the 21km Nürburgring circuit at breakneck speeds.

Her charisma led to her becoming a guest commentator on motorsport events on German television and co-hosting D-motor, a show on which, Top Gear-style, she would take on a new racing challenge every week.

In a Facebook post in July last year, Schmitz revealed that she had been suffering from "an extremely persistent cancer" since late 2017, for which she had been treated, but the cancer had returned.

Sabine Schmitz's first marriage was dissolved in 2000. She is survived by her second husband, Klaus Abbelen.

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