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Old 12th February 2004, 19:20   #1
Gustav
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Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

Alot of thanks to Johan and his race team http://www.schwedenkreuz.se for asking Sabine these questions. Sabine will be a driver in this team.



Video of her in action:

http://www.8200rpm.com/Video_Section...vXComplete.avi
  1. Would she accept a set of BeastPower rear sway bar brackets as a free gift, and would she use them on the Ring-Taxi?"Yes I would accept it but I can’t use since the Ring-taxi is not my car but BMW’s"

  2. What does she think of the AC Schnitzer DFC suspension (I assume she has driven a beast with it installed)?"I have never driven an M5 with AC Schnitzer DFC suspension"



  3. I would be interested on her thoughts/insights on tires and whether she has any preferences.
"Dunlop are much better in the wet but to soft for dry where the Michelins are better"


  1. What does she think about the fact that the Nordschleife gets more and more popular? It must me a good news for her restaurant, her notoriety but what about her own pleasure on the track ?
  1. "I think it’s great that more and more people come to Nordschleife and traffic is not a problem for me"


  2. Is she involved in the E60 M5 development process ? If yes, in which fields ? (I hope she won't give a too evasive answer, as the question remains very general)."I am not involved in the development but next year the Ring-taxi will be an E60 M5."


  3. Besides tires and brake pad changes, is there anything else required as maintenance on the Ring Taxi above and beyond normal maintenance that they do?"All of the suspension is changed every 5000 km and brake discs are changed much more frequent"

  4. Does the Ring Taxi have equal sized front and rear tires?"No"


  5. What brake pads does she use on the Ring Taxi? Stock, or more performance?"Special braked pads from Pagid"

  6. How about brake fluid?"Stock"


  7. Does the power steering ever overheat?"No"


  8. How about the oil or coolant?"If it’s very hot outside coolant can become a bit warm, but we have the air condition on otherwise I would overheat or the passengers. J To keep it cool we don’t rev more than 5500 for a while then"


  9. Many of us on this board have greatly enjoyed a video of a lap around the Ring shot from a Porsche that was following you. Are you aware of how many people have seen this video and do you have any concept of the notoriety you enjoy among enthusiasts?"Not really"


  10. Most of us greatly envy your job. Would you rather be doing something different (like racing in F1) or are you satisfied with driving a Ring Taxi for a living?"I couldn’t drive F1 because I’m not that good" The Ring-taxi is fun because of all the people but racing on Nordschleife all the time would be more fun. J


  11. I hear many enthusiast often complain about the unpredictable nature of track traffic. From watching you drive I would guess you rarely become perturbed by other drivers. Is this the case or does the traffic at the Ring irritate you?"Only if someone drives faster than Me."

  12. How many kilometers does it get until end of ring service.Every M5 Ring-taxi get more than 20 000 km on the Ring


  13. What happens to the car after ring service?It goes to the junk yard


  14. How did she get her start?"I am born in Nürburg and I was always interested in Motorsport. I started racing on Nordschleife in a very slow car, VW Polo with 55 hp! When I had my 19th birthday, I set the lap record in a Ford Sierra Cosworth RWD group N, The lap time was 8.16. 1990 they were looking for fast women driver for the Ford Fiesta Mixed Cup. I came 3rd the first year, 2nd 1991 and won 1992. In the year 199, I got a contract with BMW and drove in South Africa, Brazil and off course on Nordschleife. Since then I’ve been driving on and off for BMW.


  15. Why no competition? Does the Ring give her exclusive rights?Se above!


  16. Does she maintain her own M5? if not, who's her mechanic?"It’s a BMW’s M5 and the, BMW test center maintains it"


  17. If she would pick her favorite public roads to drive, which ones, and why? (I want to drive those roads one day).When not driving on Nordschleife, I prefer to ride my horses. (Sabine has 3 horses).


  18. Is she married?Yes, I am married to Guido, sorry guys.


  19. I suppose the prescence of Sabine on this board would be appreciated more than the prescence of any other person, male or female. She doesn´t have to worry about language, we will happily learn German!"If time permits, I will try to check it once in a while"


  20. What modifications (including hardware, software, lubricantsm etc) has been done to the Ring Taxi, if any? If so, is she pleased with the changes?"Only brake pads are changed"


  21. Are there any modifications she would do if she were able? Why?"Make the car lighter, otherwise it’s good for since it’s a road car."


  22. We all know that Jeremy Clarkson is a real macho. Does Sabine think she managed to shut him up with only one tool : the steering wheel? (Actually Jeremy was a ring taxi passenger)."Yes, I think I did. "


  23. Does she have a daughter?"No"


  24. What is the funniest/strangest moment she experienced or seen on the Ring - passenger reaction, interaction with other drivers, most dangerous experience, etc?
    Please thank her for all of us here...would love to meet her some day!
    "I had two very small Japanese guys in the Ring-taxi, both sitting in the back seat. First their necks got longer and longer and after the first corner they hid behind the front seats because they were so afraid. J I can write a book with stories like that."


  25. What is her favorite street vehicle on the ring?"M3 GTR, GT3 and M3 CSL"


  26. What is her favorite track vehicle on the ring? I believe she's raced a few."M3 GTR"

  27. In the Jeremy Clarkson video she mentioned she can lap the ring in the M5 in 8:16. Is that true?"No faster! J "


  28. Has she ever crashed a Ring Taxi?"No, never ever."

  29. What is her opinion on performance modifications on the M5? Does she believe that it would actually reduce lap times?"I think for a standard road car it is fast enough but a bit too heavy."


  30. Is she single? j/k "Not at the moment"




  31. Will she marry me? Stats: Username: GreekM5, live in NYC, drive: M5 E39"Send me a copy of your bank account statement and we’ll see. j/k"




  32. Whats the fastest time she has completed a lap in the ring M5."We don’t time the Ring-taxi but a low 8 minute lap is possible. The Ring Taxi is not allowed to go faster than 8.30 (?)"


  33. Would she consider driving my car (once its finished [DFC,brakes,engine mods] for a comparison review)."Off course ,why not?"

  34. How does the new E60 M5 compare with the ring taxi? (power and handling'wise)."I have not driven the E60 M5 yet. I think it will be a big difference"

  35. So when does she get a new car? When the E60 M5 arrives."Next year"


  36. We have seen some videos of people trying to race you and the Ring Taxi. When this happens do you genarally try to race them or do you slow down to be on the safe side in the case of them making a mistake?"We don’t drive races. I always stay on the safe side. That’s the reason why I never had any accidents. We demonstrate car control and not how to drive races."




  37. Sabine, off the record, what do you think of BMWs new styling direction? When the E60 M5 has been on the track, have you tried to race it?"The styling is OK but what matters for me more is handling"

  38. Will you give a brief summary and comparison of what you thought about all the Ring Taxi you’ve been driving: E34 M5 3,8, 540 E39 and M5 E39!

"The old M5 felt more like a race car and the E39 is more comfortable over small bumps"

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Old 12th February 2004, 19:41   #2
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Re: Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

Good Stuff! Thanks to Gustav and to Sabine for answering the questions. Happy motoring!
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Old 12th February 2004, 20:19   #3
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Re: Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

thanks nice interview
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Old 13th February 2004, 00:58   #4
Ashok Arora
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Re: Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

Excellent interview - thanks Sabine (and Gustav).

Just a footnote - Sabine's first time around the 'Ring was in the back of her Father's car when she was six months old
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Old 13th February 2004, 00:59   #5
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Re: Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

Great interview. Keep up the good work guys.
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Old 13th February 2004, 01:00   #6
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Re: Answers from Sabine, the Ring taxi driver!

Excellent! This is definitely one for the "best of" category. Fun reading.
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