The Queen of the Nürburgring, Sabine Schmitz, has died

Enlarge / Sabine Schmitz sitting in her car during a car parade at the Nurburgring race track in 2014. (credit: Thomas Frey/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Sabine Schmitz, racing driver and TV host, has died of cancer in Germany at the age of 51. Known as the "Queen of the Nurburgring," Schmitz grew up next to the legendary racetrack. Her parents ran the bar at the Hotel am Tiergarten, and she was headed for a career in hospitality before becoming a racing driver.

She first drove the 12.9-mile (20.8 km) track at the age of 15 in the family car and quickly got the bug, learning the track's lines better than most. In 1996, she became the first woman to win the 24-hour Nurburgring race (with teammate Johannes Scheid). In 1997, the two repeated that feat, and in 1998 she won the VLN endurance championship (a race series held at the Nurburgring).

Beyond her exploits in racing, Schmitz made a name for herself as one of the "ring taxi" drivers, taking paying customers for rides around the track in high-powered BMWs, an activity that helped her rack up more than 30,000 laps of "the green hell."

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