Hansen
Remember the Nürburgring transit van videos with Sabine Schmitz on old Top Gear? Where Richard Hammond joined her for to complete the Ring in under 10 minutes, in an attempt to beat Jeremy Clarkson’s time of 9:59 in a Diesel Jaguar S Type? Apparently after the show she had met up with Andy Wilman (the producer of Top Gear and the W in the “W Chump & Sons” television production company with Clarkson, Hammond, and May) for potential discussion of joining Top Gear. But according to an interview with The Daily Mail, she seemed to have some reservations about joining the Boys, or didn’t believe that it could have been done at all:
I had some conversations with Andy Wilman, but a German girl on Clarkson’s show? Could you imagine that? No way.
In case you haven’t seen the transit van footage, you can see it below. Simply put, she was amazing:
When Clarkson, Hammond, and May left the Top Gear show, Schmitz saw it as another opportunity to join the Top Gear ranks:
When those three left the show there was another chance. And when the call came, I said yes straight away.
The rebooted Top Gear with Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc at the helm failed to attract many viewers in its maiden season. Schmitz also didn’t receive much air time outside of making pilots and Evans lose their breakfast. Now that Evans is no longer part of Top Gear, Sabine’s fans can expect her to have an expanded role as Top Gear readies for production of Series 24 starting next month.
In case you didn’t know who Sabine Schmitz was before the new Top Gear, she’s better known as the “Queen of the Nürburgring.” She has earned that reputation for having driven around the ring more than 30,000 times. According to an interview with the Daily Mail:
One of the world’s most terrifying circuits. ‘It’s the longest, fastest and scariest rollercoaster in the world,’ says Sabine. ‘And it has jumps – you don’t have jumps on a rollercoaster. It’s the most dangerous race track in the world, that’s for sure.’
The tragic statistics bear this out. About 200 people have been killed on the Nurburgring – incredibly, it is open to normal traffic as a no-limit toll road when it’s not hosting a race.
Her greatest achievement was winning the Nurburgring’s grueling 24-hour race – proof, were it needed, that women have the physical and mental toughness to compete alongside men in motorsport.
‘It’s dangerous enough in the daytime, but when you’re racing there at night you have to drive with your nose. If you smell oil, then someone has leaked some and you have to be careful. If you smell freshly cut grass, then someone has spun off.’
If you need one more reminder of why Sabine deserves her nickname and a spot on Top Gear, here’s another video where she destroys the competition in one lap:
(Source: The Daily Mail)
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