Sabine Schmitz has died a♊t the age of 5ཧ1 following a long battle with cancer.

Schmitz was nickname🤪d 'Queen of the Nurburgring' after becoming the first woman to win the 24 Hours of Nurbur♍gring in 1996.

She won it again a year later in 1997 and then 𒁏claimed the VLN-🎉championship in 1998.

Her success at the famous German circuit handed her the nickname of 'Q🦄ueen of the Nurburgring' as well as ‘the fastest taxi driver in the world’ for driving passengers around the track in a BMW M5.

Schmitz was also known for her role on BBC car🌌 programme Top Gear, joining the presenti🎉ng team in 2016

In 2020, Schmitz revealed that she had been suffering from "an extremely persistent cancer" for three♋ years, where she explained she had relapsed after soughti🐷ng treatment initially

In a statement released by Frikadelli Racing - the t𒀰eam she founded with her husband Klaus Abbelen - it was announced that Schmitz had died on Tuesday following her long battle against cancer.

“Sabine Schmitz passed away yesterday (Tuesday) after her brave 🦩fight agai🦋nst cancer,” the team said.

“She was 51 years old. Klaus Abbelen and all relatives and friends are deeply saddened by the imme💫asurable loss.”

The Nu෴rburgring paid tribute t♒o Schmitz with a short statement on social media.

“The N🌠ürburgring has lost its most famous female racing driver.

“Sabine Schmitz passed away 🌜far too early after a long ilꦛlness. We will miss her and her cheerful nature. Rest in peace Sabine!”