00x05 - A Tribute To Sabine Schmitz

[bunniefuu]

All the way from Germany,
please welcome Sabine Schmitz.

She was fun, and she saw driving
a car as a fun thing to do,

and driving it quickly
as an even more fun thing to do.

On a track. That's great
and I think that came out.

If you just walked into the average
pub in the UK in the last 15 years,

and said, "Racing driver. Woman."
Quite a few people would go,

"Oh, the German woman off Top Gear."

Your driving style is really funny.

Sabine is beautifully bonkers.

I'm coming for you!

And I mean that with so much
love and respect.

She loved doing something that we
all love doing, but she really loved

doing it, and also was
extremely good at it.

Woo!

She drove fast, but lived life fast,

and you get the sense with Sabine
that every day of her life

was an event.

On the '6th of March 2021',
the world of motor racing lost one

of its brightest stars.

My dad actually told me once
that if I work really, really hard,

I may be as successful
as her one day.

Fierce, hugely talented
and a great person.

And there was one place above
all others where that star

burned brightest of all.

The Nurburgring is the biggest
challenge of a racetrack

on the planet.
There's no debate about that.

You cant't be the Queen of the
Nurburgring without being very good

at it, and, to be honest, if you're
not very good at it, and you do it

that much, you're going to
come a cropper because

it's not a safe place.

There's so much undulation
and banked corners and dips,

and it can be raining over one
side of the circuit,

but really sunny on another.

It doesn't matter how good
a driver you are,

that place has always got
a surprise for you. Always.

NARRATOR: But to Sabine Schmitz,

the world's longest and most
infamous motor racing circuit

was simply...

...home.

If you're looking to describe
Sabine, you've got to put her

in context and the only context is
the Nurburgring.

This is a place she knows better
than you know anything you know.

Everybody who can compete
there can do it everywhere

on any racetrack in the world.

There is talk about the Nurburgring
having a corner named after her.

Just name the whole course
after her, you know,

she was the queen of it.

Born in 1969, in the very village
that the track encircles,

Sabine grew up literally
surrounded by racing.

This is what people, I think,
sometimes forget just how big

the Nurburgring is, that it does
have civilisations in it,

and so she was going round it on,
you know, skis when it was snowing

or bicycle or whatever...

...from as soon as she was
a sentient being.

NARRATOR: Sabine started driving
the circuit at the age of 17.

By 19, she held a Nurburgring
lap record, quickly becoming

a specialist in motorsport's most
gruelling discipline -

endurance racing.

Endurance racing now, it's arguably
a lot less difficult than it was.

You can drive a racing car flat out
now for 24 hours and it won't break.

Back then, you had to look
after the vehicle.

And that was a real skill.

It was a physical challenge,
as well.

It's a challenge of concentration.

And she was the only woman doing it
there. I mean, looking back,

actually, there's a reason why
she was such a hero out there.

In 1996, Sabine became
the first woman

to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours,

and the following year,
she won it again.

Double 24 Hour Nurburgring
champion. I mean, that's hard.

That's so, so hard.

To win that race,
not once, but twice.

I think anyone who can master
that circuit is a truly

great racing driver.

This was a young, talented,
successful female driver,

and with her reputation
in the motor racing world

already well established,

in 2004, Sabine was discovered
by a whole new audience.

Yeah, I remember the first time I
saw her on telly at the Nurburgring

with Clarkson. Erm, it was...it was
so good to watch.

The Top Gear test track
has eight corners.

Silyerstone, which is a big
Grand Prix circuit, has 12 corners.

The Nurburgring has 147 corners.

To help me get round this place,
I have a teacher - Sabine Schmitz.

The first time she ever
took me round the Nurburgring,

she just humiliated me and was rude.

I have no idea where this track
goes. At the moment it's quite easy.

OK, and now accelerate,
accelerate, accelerate...

It's a corner! Accelerate!
It's not really a corner.

It's a huge corner!
SHE LAUGHS

You could see him behind that wheel
just getting smaller,

and smaller, and smaller.

This is my first lap.
Don't brake so much.

Just... She was extremely
critical of me.

I mean, hurtfully so.

No, don't! Don't brake! OK.

Oh, a girl overtook you.
Did you see that?

Do you know, I'm not feeling proud.

She had many observations to make
about my driving,

and none of them were kind.

Is this the Carousel

Ja, now the Carousel is coming.

Turn in more later. Ugh!

Your driving style is really funny.
SHE CHUCKLES

"Your driving style is very funny."

I did laugh out loud
when I saw that.

I mean, I'm glad that I amused her,
but I still don't know why

it was particularly funny.

Maybe listen?
Maybe she knows more than you.

Do you think I'm going to be able
to get around in ten minutes?

No.
THEY LAUGH

Don't sugar-coat it like that.
Tell me straight.

You're not 100% talent free,
but 80%?

SHE LAUGHS


But nevertheless, she did coach me
well enough,

so that I did a sort of
sub ten minute time.

Oh! Come on, come on.

There's the end! There's the end!





I did it! I did it!



Yes! 9 minutes, 59 seconds.

That means you did the lap in...
BOTH: 9.59.



I tell you something. What?
I do that lap time in a van.

Oh, rubbish. I show you what
a really fast lap is. OK?

Stop.

Sadly, that's
all we have time for...

Shut up, Jeremy, it isn't. Now, that
looked pretty fast, did it not?

You did it in 9.59.
How fast did she do it?

Um... Bear in mind, this is her
first lap in the car.

Strange car to her.


No, come on. 9... Who wants to know
how fast she did it?

AUDIENCE: Yeah! I'll tell you.


She did it 9 minutes, 12 seconds.

I'm sorry. You're rubbish.

You are rubbish!

OK.

You're right. I was rubbish. Yep.

I think she beat him, what,
by about 40 odd seconds?

Um, yeah, and that isn't
a reflection of Jeremy.

I think she would do that
to any man.

HE CHUCKLES

A year later,

Top Gear returned
to the Nurburgring,

this time with the stakes
even higher.

How many laps do you think you've
done of the ring in your life?



How many times have you crashed?
I'm just wondering.

Oh, many times. Many times.
I can't count, actually.

SHE LAUGHS
Right.

She'd laid down the gauntlet
to Jeremy,

he'd driven round the Nurburgring,
er, in a Jaguar, and she'd said,

"I could do it quicker
than that in a van."

All right, then... however you say
sunshine in German,

we'll get you a van, and you can...
you can... You can try.

We're away. Go, go, go, go!

W00!

I have to brake with my left foot.
OK.

Then I can keep the right foot
on the gas. See?





Hurry up, please!

Ooh!

Yeah, it was scary,
but not terrifying.

It was fun because she was in
control. She was doing what she did.

Woo! Oversteer, and understeer,
and everything!

Ooh!

Yeah, I've sat with a lot of fast
drivers and they make it look easy.

She made it look joyous.

SHE SPEAKS GERMAN

Just overtaken a motorcyclist.

Glad it wasn't me
being overtaken by a van.

Woohoo!

Oh, no...

It was a real privilege to be
alongside her when she

went for that and then to be thrown
out of it because I was just weight

and I 'd get in the way.

Go!

I don't think Sabine would have
allowed a quarter of a second

to be missing from her lap time
in that van.

Now it's working.

And sixth gear.

I mean, she properly threw
everything into it,

she did want to beat my time.

The brakes are burning!

She screwed literally everything
out of that thing.

Jeremy, everything is for you,
just to beat you.

Of course, she didn't.

Oh, don't, please!

Eight seconds left. No!

No! Ah! 10.08.

I mean, she was in a van
and I was in a jag,

but nevertheless, you know...

NARRATOR: Sabine's exploits on
camera had made her a culy icon.

And in 2016, the beginning
of a new chapter for Top Gear

gave the world another chance
to see her in action.

Sabine Schmitz, everyone!

You know, people looked up to her,
I would see it when we would do

the live audience shows,
I would see people that, you know,

they would tap each 0ther
on the shoulder.

"There's Sabine, there's Sabine."

And it was it was really cool
to watch and to see the effect

she had on people
and on women especially.

It was that she was a true
inspiration to people.

She had a bit of a reputation for
making people very ill in cars.

Should I name names?

I'm going to name names.

Yeah. Chris Evans.

Hold on tight to your ba*ls, sonny!

Woo!

Stop, stop, stop, please, stop.

Go out, go out, go out!

HE VOMITS

Then a fighter pilot
was in a Corvette

with her and he was sick.

I might need a break, Sabine. Huh?
I might need a break.

You need a break? I might need
a break. What?!

This is an actual fighter pilot,

whose job it is to drive
at Mach 2,

twice the speed of sound.

HE BURPS

Oh!

Yeah, what can I say?

Shets fast!

Oh, I love the Carousel!

OK, now I'm scared. I love it!

THEY SHRIEK

Your name is Rory Reid
or Rory "Worried"?

I'm very worried right now!

She has this confidence
and trust in the car and knowledge

of every metre of the tarmac,
so she knows she can brake later.

She brakes at points where you think
thatts a crash, thatts an accident,

we're having an accident.

But we're not. We're braking.

Oh, sorry!

And we're turning in
and you think, we probably

shouldn't be accelerating so soon
because we might wash out and

hit a wall. No. We're turning,
we're cool. I'ts all happening.

Shets one step ahead of the car,
one step ahead of you, one step

ahead of the track.

She's in total control
and you have to dial yoursely

into her frequency before you start
to relax and appreciate

what she's doing.

What is Sabine like as a teacher?
Tough love.

Push! I'm pushing!

This is the fastest part
of the track.

I'm not scared. How can it be?

Scare me, scare me!
Scare you? Scare me!

I'm trying!

I actually remember, we came around
the corner, I was pushing and

pushing and pushing, and I ended up
on the dirt.

And we were heading towards
the pit wall,

this metal barrier, really quickly.

Oh!

I panicked.

And she was like,
"Keep the wheel straight."

She was still coaching.
Sweep the wheel!

And then at the end, where I thought
she'd be really angry with me

for putting her in danger,
she was like,

"Yes, you finally get it.
You have to push."

To go through the dirt,
that's a good sign.

That means you're really
pushing, Rory.

I don't know if you just realised,
but we almost died there!

I like that. You must push,
you must hit the dirt,

go through the dust.
"Eat my dust,"

that's what we want to see.

This woman is crazy.

Sabine brought that same energy
and enthusiasm to every one

of her appearances, n0 matter
the race track or the race car.

Chain car racing, weird concept, not
something I ever want to do again.

Hey, buddy.

Oh, God, no.

Let's smash some stuff. No, let's
not smash some stuff, Sabine.

Poor Chris, I don't think he knew
that Sabine was going to be driving

the chain car.

He was in the back seat,
operating the brakes and Sabine

had steering and throttle.

Brake, Harris.

Yeah.

Sorry.

This is a woman, you know,
who has barrel- rolled many cars.

She doesn't give a monkey's.

And true to form, it hurt.

I know Harris quite well,
from the olden days, and I know

he was genuinely alarmed by that -
I can tell the difference.

Oh, my God!

This is the worst thing
I've ever done.

LAUGHTER

Chris, good job.
Are you still there?

Just. It scared him.

It takes quite a lot
to scare Harris,

and Sabine thought it was funny.

You total lunatic.

LAUGHTER

What was really telling,
actually, in all of these events,

was you can tell someone's got
a real natural driving gift

when you just throw them
into anything.

Sabine was that person.
She was like a Swiss Army knife.

You never get a sense of danger
with her behind the wheel, ever.

There was only... Even in that
King of the Hammers thing.

The King of the Hammers

is an extreme off-road competition
held every year

in Southern California.

It is considered one of the world's
most challenging motorsport events.

I remember standing, doing
an opening shot somewhere

in the Mojave Desert.

The scenery was remarkable
and I just stood and looked at her

and went, "What on earth
are we doing here?"

Woo! This is what I call
a proper playground.

She loved Americana.

She liked big American cars.

She loved all that stuff.

So we turn up to
do King of the Hammers,

there's just 50,000,
for want of a better phrase,

rednecks - with ATVs, quads,
desert, drinking beer,

with rock music playing.

She just walked in and went,
"I've come home."

This vehicle has been on its roof
several times, Sabine.

But that's standard, isn't it?

Are you not worried by this?

I can't wait, actually.
Don't cry, Harris, please.

The boss of King of the Hammers,
the owner, Dave Cole, delivered

a pretty crushing summary

of what he thought our chances
were in the event.

She's going to k*ll it.
You're not going to make it.

Anybody that can drive a van
around Nurburgring

is willing to try different things.

I've heard she's already been upside
down and you're worried about that.

So you're going to drive scared

and you're going to be upside down
anyway.

She's going to k*ll it.

I was just stood there thinking,
A, that hurts.

And B, you're probably right.

I didn't want to be there,
at that point,

but she just loved it.

She never looked afraid -
speed didn't bother her.

Let's think about it as the
Nurburgring in the Stone Ages.

SHE LAUGHS

Wh00!

Oh, I hit that!

Whoa, look at that!

This is crazy.

Yeah, then it caught fire.

Oh, God.

You got smoke coming out of
the back.

She didn't give a monkey's
about any of it.

I mean, fire is a problem.

I remember telling her, just pull
over and get out, just get out.

And she very calmly
pulled over and got out.

I don't think she even raised
her voice.

Just get out.

Whoo!

She's out, she's OK.

As a driver unfazed by any challenge
that came her way,

Sabine's successes continued
both off track and on.

Alongside her partner, Klaus,

at Frikadelli Racing, the team
they founded together,

The Queen of the Nurburgring
continued to show her class.

And in 2019, the arrival

of Top Gear's current
presenting team

saw Sabine make another
impactful return to the show.

She was fun.

She just brought a presence
and she was a real treat for us

to work with and a treat
for the viewer, because when Sabine

turned up, something's happening.

We were doing the banger racing day.

I was a bit nervous
about meeting her,

not so much for
the driving side of it,

more about - I hope we got on.

You know, I really wanted
for her to like me.

Hello, my Paddy patty cake.

Hi, Sabine, good to see you.
Bang!

"Bang!"

And I remember sitting there going,
I think I said something like,

"Oh no, it's the German,
I thought they got rid of her.""

But no, they hadn't!

I was in a banger car and we had
to defend Paddy's car.

And she had to try
and take Paddy out.

Can we not let them through?

I feel like Kevin Costner
in The Bodyguard.

No-one's coming through here.

You couldn't take me.

Oh! Sabine's having a go at me!

I think she just toyed with us,
it was like a cat

with a bally just pawing at it.

Paddy, I'm coming for you!

No!

Paddy's in the big car. He's got
all the chat, Paddy, but again,

it's another man out their depth!

I sense impending doom!

Paddy, sweetheart,
I'm coming for you!

When she decides she's had enough,
it's game over,

and that is exactly what happened.

Whoo!

This doesntt feel good. Oh, no!

Oh, no! Bye- bye.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh! Oh, no!

Oh!

Bye, Paddy!

Then, you know,
I spent time with her.

We had a few days in a portofino,
you know, driving round together.

M18 south, there,

that;s us. Ja! Hey, hey!

I loved spending time
in that car with her.

I loved... I loved
our little arguments.

Have you seen Thirsk on there?
We're 20 miles away from Thirsk.

There's nothing on my map!

Nothing on my map!

That's the bloody hotel
we've just come out of! What?!

You've drove us all the way back
to where we started!

There is an irony in that
she can navigate 147 corners

at the Nurburgring,
but struggles round York.

Just...

It's just Sabine, innit, all over.

She loved her animals.

And I think I asked her,
what are you up to this weekend

and what did you do last weekend?

And she said, "Oh, I'm going
to go and pick up..."

I think it was, like, a sheep.

I'm like, Oh, cool what
car are you taking?"

Cos we used to talk cars.

And she was like,
"No, no, I'm taking the helicopter."

"You're going to put a sheep
in a helicopter?"

And that was typical Sabine.

When she walked into a room,
it was as though...

...everything got just a bit
brighter and a bit louder.

It was just... She was turning
everything up on your television

until it was just like that.

And that's what five minutes
with Sabine was like.

I remember her, being sat
behind the wheel -

big smile on her face,
shouting and screaming.

And she just goes past us.

She was an absolute force of nature,

and thatts how I want
to remember her.

Hold on tight to your ba*ls, sonny!

It's the breadth of the affection
for her, it was everybody

from the hardcore Nurburgringers,
who respected her enormously,

to just, you know, households
who watched Top Gear,

and who just loved her because
she'd turn up and sort of slightly

smash the place up, you know,
and ridicule the rest of us.

And I think it earned her
a huge, huge number of fans.

There werentt ever really many women
racing when I was coming up

through the ranks, let alone
successful women racing,

but Sabine was always there.

She was always someone
that I watched from afar.

And seeing her success
definitely inspired me.

She was a real figurehead for women
within motor sport, and she had such

belief in her talent
and her ability.

Just a source of joy - you watch
those films with her in, again,

you just watch her smile.

Faster!

Watch her expressions when she was
driving right on the ragged edge.

Ah, I love it!

Even at those moments, she was happy
to give in to the joy of it.

Woohoo!

I love my job!

And the tragedy is,
I tm sure she had a great deal

more of that to share
with all of us.

SHE LAUGHS