Top Gear stars Paddy McGuinness and Chris Harris have paid tribute to Sabine Schmitz following her death aged 51.
German driver Schmitz, known as the Queen of the Nurburgring, revealed last year that she had been battling cancer since 2017.
She appeared on Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and became part of the presenting team when Chris Evans revamped the show in 2015.
McGuinness shared a picture of himself and Schmitz in a car on Instagram, writing alongside it: “I spent a glorious couple of days in a Ferrari with Sabine and she hunted me down in a banger race. What a woman, what a legacy, what a life. Very sad news. RIP the great Sabine Schmitz”.
Rest in peace you wonderful, powerful, hilarious person. pic.twitter.com/nwXgBwZsbE
— chris harris (@harrismonkey) March 17, 2021
Top Gear host Harris tweeted: “Rest in peace you wonderful, powerful, hilarious person”.
Terrible news about Sabine Schmitz. Such a sunny person and so full of beans.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) March 17, 2021
Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson also paid tribute to Schmitz, tweeting: “Terrible news about Sabine Schmitz. Such a sunny person and so full of beans”.
Schmitz was the only female winner of the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, the famous German racing track.
The Nürburgring has lost its most famous female racing driver.
Sabine Schmitz passed away far too early after a long illness. We will miss her and her cheerful nature. Rest in peace Sabine! pic.twitter.com/MFKNNFOSDU
— Nürburgring (@nuerburgring) March 17, 2021
A tweet from the official Nurburgring account said: “The Nurburgring has lost its most famous female racing driver. Sabine Schmitz passed away far too early after a long illness. We will miss her and her cheerful nature. Rest in peace Sabine!”.
We are saddened by the loss of Sabine Schmitz.
Beyond almost beating Clarkson in a Ford Transit and a number of other Top Gear appearances, Sabine was a talented racer, winning the infamous Nürburgring 24h on multiple occasions.
The Queen of the Nordschleife 👑 pic.twitter.com/KXg2SQ3BRL
— DRIVETRIBE (@DRIVETRIBE) March 17, 2021
Drive Tribe, the online platform started by Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, tweeted: “We are saddened by the loss of Sabine Schmitz. Beyond almost beating Clarkson in a Ford Transit and a number of other Top Gear appearances, Sabine was a talented racer, winning the infamous Nurburgring 24h on multiple occasions. The Queen of the Nordschleife…”.
Schmitz announced via social media last year that she was absent from the Nurburgring Endurance Series due to her ongoing battle with cancer.
In the post, she said that “Since the end of 2017, I have been fighting an extremely persistent cancer that has not been eliminated with the resources so far. It got a little better – but now it’s come back with full force”.
“Now I have to draw all the strength and nerve to master the next powerful therapies … hoping something [good] will happen. So I say goodbye ‘probably’ for the first time this season.
“In addition, I would like to thank everyone for their help and support in my everyday life, and encouragement in writing!
“So sweethearts, now you have an update. Please stay healthy and cheerful, see you at the ‘Ring.”
Many well-known faces have taken to social media to celebrate Schmitz’s life, including racing driver Tiff Needell, as well as former Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.