Former Top Gear star Sabine Schmitz passes away after a battle with cancer

German race car driver Sabine Schmitz has passed away according to a Tweet put out by the official Nurbrungring Twitter account.

Schmitz, who last year confirmed that she was battling with a "stubborn form of cancer" was a popular figure around the German race track. One of motorsport's true female stars, Schmitz won the 24 Hours of Nurburgring on two occasions in 1996 and 1997 and most recently competed in the World Touring Car Championship.

Apart from her racing career, Schmitz also joined the reworked Top Gear crew in a recurring role, though her standout moment in the show came in 2004 when she coached the show's then lead Jeremy Clarkeson on how to tackle the famous Nurburgring race track.

We at RacingNews365.com would like to offer our condolences to the Schmitz family at what we are sure is a very difficult time for them.