Sabine Schmitz died a few days ago. She was only 51 and had a long and painful battle with cancer.

You probably know her from her 17 years on Top Gear. But she was much more than that. One of Sabine's major claims to fame was that she could make famous people, including top gun pilots, throw up when they were passengers in her cars. She also was one of the great race drivers, a Top Gear host, a helicopter pilot, an accomplished horse rider, pub owner and the fastest taxi driver in the world. Sabine and British race driver Dale Lomas ran a $450-a-lap "taxi" service around the track that Jackie Stewart called the Green Hell because it's the scariest race circuit in the world.

Sabine is the first and only woman to win the 24-hour Nurburgring race in 50 years. She won first in 1996 and backed up for another first in 1997. She won another 43 races for BMW. She first drove a circuit at six months old (in the baby seat in the back of Dad's car), went out on the track in "Mum's BMW" at 17 ("Mum didn't know") and lied about her age to the track officials. She had done more than 20,000 laps since then.

As friend and fellow taxi driver Dale Lomas said: "For thousands of Nurburgring fans around the world, Sabine was much, much more than the stereotype-busting 'Queen of the 'Ring' that the BBC loved to portray. She was the Queen of the Nurburgring Nordschleife, sure. But she was also BMW and BMW Motorsport back when 'Sheer Driving Pleasure' had gravitas and actually meant something. She was bullshit-free, cold beers in a smokey PK after a hard day driving the Ring-Taxi sideways through Brunnchen. She was cowboy boots, quadbikes, helicopters and horses. She lived the life, walked the walk and talked the talk. She was a hero for a whole generation of close-to-middle-aged car guys, back before 'woke' was even a thing. And now she's gone, but she'll never, ever be forgotten."

F1 commentator Murray Walker also died this week, aged 97. Walker came from a racing family, was a tank commander and captain in the second big one, worked in advertising and was credited with the slogan "a Mars a day, helps you work, rest and play", commentated for the first time 73 years ago, stood up to call F1 full time in 1978, called the Bathurst 1000, came second with Colin Bond in Targa Tasmania and gave the world Murrayisms.

Murrayisms? How about: "Mansell is slowing down, taking it easy. Oh no he isn't IT'S A LAP RECORD." "Tambay's hopes, which were nil before, are absolutely zero now." And "there's no damage to the car. Except to the car itself." And my favourite: "How you can crash into a wall without it being there in the first place is beyond me!"