Sabine Schmitz wild card WTCC drive at the Nordschleife

[FourWheelDrift]

That'll be interesting.

"The famous television personality, dubbed the 'Queen of the 'Ring', is an expert around the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife track, having grown up around the circuit and run a high-speed 'taxi' service around the circuit. The 45-year-old will contest the fourth round of the WTCC 2015 season in two races held around the 25km circuit on the 16-17 May. "

http://www.crash.net/wtcc/news/217306/1/sabine-sch...

[F1GTRUeno]

I'd be highly surprised if she's in the top 15.

[spadriver]

Prepare to be;)

[mycool]

This ---------^

especially if it is wet

[rallycross]

F1GTRUeno said:

I'd be highly surprised if she's in the top 15.

She will probably be in front of all the regular WTCC drivers who have not raced at the 'Ring before and in front of a few that have as well.

[RDMcG]

I would not underestimate Sabine ever.

[BritishRacinGrin]

She's scored wins and podiums at the 'ring in BMWs and Porsches. I think she could upset some WTCC regulars. Not sure she'll trouble the podium though. Top eight I reckon.

[Ali2202]

Oooh! She could trouble MY Top Podium!

[FourWheelDrift]

BritishRacinGrin said:

She's scored wins and podiums at the 'ring in BMWs and Porsches. I think she could upset some WTCC regulars. Not sure she'll trouble the podium though. Top eight I reckon.

Definitely behind the Citroens and mixing it with the Hondas I think, based on the performance of the Cruze this year.

[DiscoColin]

rallycross said:

F1GTRUeno said:

I'd be highly surprised if she's in the top 15.

She will probably be in front of all the regular WTCC drivers who have not raced at the 'Ring before and in front of a few that have as well.

That 'not raced at the ring' caveat is significant though. I would say that drivers like Coronel and Huff have very credible histories at the 'ring, and given their familiarity with WTCC machinery you wouldn't favour the chances of any wildcard of an upset for the win. I wouldn't bet against Loeb either after his Pikes Peak drive the other year... (Admittedly well supported with cutting edge machinery, but to pulp the all time record on a first appearance there is a very tangible achievement for driving fast on a treacherous and lengthy piece of tarmac).

But Sabine will not IMHO be propping up the back markers and probably will embarrass some of the season regulars.

[furrywoolyhatuk]

So how did she do?

[trashbat]

Ask again in a month?

[anonymous-user]

Anyone know if she will be testing next week as part of the official test?

[FourWheelDrift]

tux said:

Anyone know if she will be testing next week as part of the official test?

sounds like it (end of penultimate paragraph) - http://www.fiawtcc.com/queen-of-the-ring-schmitz-t...

[DanielSan]

DiscoColin said:

That 'not raced at the ring' caveat is significant though. I would say that drivers like Coronel and Huff have very credible histories at the 'ring, and given their familiarity with WTCC machinery you wouldn't favour the chances of any wildcard of an upset for the win. I wouldn't bet against Loeb either after his Pikes Peak drive the other year... (Admittedly well supported with cutting edge machinery, but to pulp the all time record on a first appearance there is a very tangible achievement for driving fast on a treacherous and lengthy piece of tarmac).

But Sabine will not IMHO be propping up the back markers and probably will embarrass some of the season regulars.

The Pikes Peak record was a given though, it was the first year the whole course was tarmac rather than part dirt.

[FourWheelDrift]

She was 13th on the first day of testing, not bad considering her inexperience with the car.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap Laps
1. Jose Maraa Lopez Citroen 8m38.027s 18
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen +2.49s 22
3. Ma Qing Hua Citroen +3.46s 17
4. Gabriele Tarquini Honda +4.76s 13
5. Yvan Muller Citroen +5.61s 18
6. Hugo Valente Campos Chevrolet +6.55s 7
7. Tom Chilton ROAL Chevrolet +8.65s 6
8. Tiago Monteiro Honda +9.85s 13
9. James Thompson Lada +11.40s 4
10. John Filippi Campos Chevrolet +14.48s 9
11. Stefano D'aste Munnich Chevrolet +17.77s 13
12. Rob Huff Lada +22.54s 2
13. Sabine Schmitz Munnich Chevrolet +23.01s 7
14. Mehdi Bennani Audi TT +23.66s 16
15. Norbert Michelisz Zengo SEAT +26.23s 10
16. Gregoire Demoustier Craft-Bamboo Chevrolet +32.11s 11
17. Stefano D'aste Munnich Chevrolet +56.84s 6
18. Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lada +1m19.6s

[loudlashadjuster]

FourWheelDrift said:

She was 13th on the first day of testing, not bad considering her inexperience with the car.

Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap Laps
1. Jose Maraa Lopez Citroen 8m38.027s 18
2. Sebastien Loeb Citroen +2.49s 22
3. Ma Qing Hua Citroen +3.46s 17
4. Gabriele Tarquini Honda +4.76s 13
5. Yvan Muller Citroen +5.61s 18
6. Hugo Valente Campos Chevrolet +6.55s 7
7. Tom Chilton ROAL Chevrolet +8.65s 6
8. Tiago Monteiro Honda +9.85s 13
9. James Thompson Lada +11.40s 4
10. John Filippi Campos Chevrolet +14.48s 9
11. Stefano D'aste Munnich Chevrolet +17.77s 13
12. Rob Huff Lada +22.54s 2
13. Sabine Schmitz Munnich Chevrolet +23.01s 7
14. Mehdi Bennani Audi TT +23.66s 16
15. Norbert Michelisz Zengo SEAT +26.23s 10
16. Gregoire Demoustier Craft-Bamboo Chevrolet +32.11s 11
17. Stefano D'aste Munnich Chevrolet +56.84s 6
18. Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lada +1m19.6s

Look at Loeb though! What a boss.

[FourWheelDrift]

Got 19 times on this screenshot

[FourWheelDrift]

"Of course, Sabine is the regular we’re all hoping could upset the result. As a one-off entry, she’s competing in this Chevy Cruze. Sadly, it only completed a few laps before being sidelined by an unknown issue."

http://demo.bridgetogantry.com/wtcc-test-day-at-th...

[trashbat]

Is this going to be available to watch somewhere?