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Sabine as guest commentator for DSF

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2002 24H (June)
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Due to some fancy timing (read: sleeping in) and a lot of luck, I was able to tape an interesting fragment from DSF reporting on the 24H on Sunday, 2 June 2002, around 11.30 hours. Sabine was guest commentator for half an hour. She seemed to really enjoy it. Just listen to the sound bites: intimate knowledge of the German language is not mandatory :-) Ten minutes of the broadcast have been digitized and can be downloaded.

The sound bites are presented in the form of short translations into English and the original German audi. The sound bites usually contain more than what I've translated, but I didn't feel like doing a full transcription and translation. Enjoy!

Oh, better and/or more thorough/complete translations are welcome. If you really want a decent translation of a particular fragment, drop me a line, offer me a passenger lap, and I'll see what I can do :-) Capturing her understatements and tongue-in-cheek style can be quite hard.

Interview

The first part of the session takes the shape of an interviewer asking questions of Sabine. The format used below should be self-explanatory.

Q: Why don't you participate in this race?
A: I can't afford it, unfortunately, and I don't have the time because of the Fuchsröhre.
Wav, 650k
Q: Everybody likes to come to your place?
A: Of course!
Wav, 240k
Q: Why is your place called the Fuchsröhre?
A: I liked the story of the fox that hid in a drainage pipe during construction of the track. Furthermore, my place is long and narrow, like the drainage pipe, and things can get hectic.
Wav, 320k
Q: How old were you when you drove the ring for the first time?
A: First as a baby. My first lap as a driver I was 17 years old, and didn't have a drivers license. I drove my mother's car, but she didn't know that, naturally.
Wav, 740k
Q: Are you the only Ring Taxi driver?
A: Primarily, but on sundays two drivers from BMW come up to the Ring.
Wav, 500k
Q: Some people get out of the Ring Taxi quite white around the nose.
A: Some get out before the lap is over, saying "Thank you, I'll walk the rest of the way". Many people don't know the track and don't know what to expect.
Wav, 370k
Q: Will you make a comeback?
A: I hope so. We're developing a package. We're not sure which car or team yet, but we hope to have something together next year.
Wav, 640k
Q: It's a pity the Scheid BMW went off at Hatzenbach.
A: I feel sorry for Johannes and the team. I have deformed the Scheid BMW myself a number of times. They think of their car as their baby, and now their baby is broken.
Wav, 670k
Q: It's very busy, all hell has broken loose.
A: Yes, that's very nice! It's the way it should be!
Wav, 390k
Q: How do the slower cars interact with the quicker cars?
A: The slow cars have to check their mirrors every second. I always thanked them. Sometimes I pulled in 4 fingers if somebody annoyed me. I can't do that in the Ring Taxi.
Wav, 440k
Q: Do you follow the Langstreckenmeisterschaft, even when you don't participate?
A: Yes, I have my horses here, and I ride my horse along the track and wave, but nobody seems to know me. I'm telling everybody I'm riding my horse there, so maybe they will recognize me in the future.
Wav, 370k

Sabine comments on a lap of the nr.44 Nissan Skyline

I only included her comments if I could relate them to a particular bend. For some reason, the lap starts somewhere in the middle of the Nordschleife, just before Kesselchen. Sabine's comments appear chronologically in the table below. This lap is available for download.
Kesselchen
It's quite bumpy. You don't notice it with 120 HP, but with 240, 250 HP Kesselchen is very nice.
Wav, 140k
Mutkurve
That's Mutkurve, where our friend Mola drove off the track with his bike.
Wav, 69k
Klostertal
This is a good Porsche-corner, the Porsches always accelerate very well out of this turn.
Wav, 82k
Karussell
Never enter Karussell when on the brakes! I have gone round there on the roof, I know what I'm talking about.
Wav, 150k
Hohe Acht
That's another difficult corner, you should bring a bit of courage along.
Wav, 138k
Brünnchen
I always do a nice drift here in the Ring Taxi. Meanwhile I have my own fanclub here.
Wav, 98k
Pflanzgarten
Release the brakes when going over the jump.
Wav, 104k
Pflanzgarten 3? I think she means here.
Big jump. In the Ring Taxi I take off to a height of about 35cm, people tell me.
Wav, 194k
Galgenkopf
Very important: stay late, steer in when the track starts downhill, full throttle, if it doesn't fit you can use the kerb. Main thing is to keep the throttle nailed.
Wav, 272k
Mercedes arena
I really like this part. I've driven it twice in a GT3 Porsche, it's a difficult section. The Grand Prix track is very easy, in a cup race you get 20 cars within 1 second, this separates the men from the boys.
Wav, 550k
Transit from GP track to Nordschleife
In the wet it's very entertaining when you go from the GP track to the Nordschleife: it feels as if you're driving on soap.
Wav, 143k
A bit after the Audi S
This is a bit difficult when braking; you easily miss your braking point. At least I do.
Wav, 138k
Entry of the Nordschleife
It feels good to turn off. I don't have anything against the GP track, but the fans are all there, and you're back in the middle of things again.
Wav, 140k
Hatzenbach
Again, a late turn in, accelerate, you can drive up onto the kerbs a bit if you need to.
Wav, 116k
Somewhere in Hatzenbach
Here comes a little Mutkurve where all Ring Taxi passengers bite the upholstery.
Wav, 69k
The spot in Hatzenbach where the Scheid BMW came to an untimely end
Uh oh...
Wav, 38k
Hocheichen
Dangerous as hell when wet.
Wav, 42k
Flugplatz
The car becomes very light here. You shouldn't overdo it in the wet, I have experience with that.
Wav, 90k
Schwedenkreuz
Brake straight, steer in early, keep to the inside because there are big fat bumps on the outside that drag you wide into the meadow.
Wav, 175k
Fuchsröhre
Fuchsröhre is normally flat-out.
Wav, 61k
Adenauer Forst
Adenauer Forst is a case in itself. I take a different line here. This is like a driving school line. I think I drive more of a fighting line here, that allows me to brake later.
Wav, 143k

That's all, folks. There were two crashes during this lap, which is why Sabine didn't get a chance to describe more corners :(


Disclaimer: if you use Sabine's comments or my translations to choose the line you drive on the Nordschleife (or anywhere else) and crash, don't blame me. Blame her, if you dare...