Walter Röhrl - a life on the edge

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Walter Röhrl - a life on the edge

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Created on January 20, 2023

Text:

Daniel Reinhard

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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GM Corporation - Opel

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Audi

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Wilhelm Mester, Cuxhaven

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Audi Tradition / Konzernarchiv

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Herbert Steves

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Archiv Auto Zeitung:Rabanus

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Unternehmensarchiv der Audi AG

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Porsche AG

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Archiv

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Walter Röhrl at the start of the stage in Wolfsburg in 1972 at the 1972 Olympic Rally

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Opel Ascona (1974) - at the Moldova Rally

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Opel Ascona (1974) - Röhrl's car for the European Rally Championship

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Opel Ascona (1974) - the young Walter Röhrl becomes European Rally Champion

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BMW 2002 turbo (1977) - Walter Röhrl in the Schnitzer-BMW in the 1977 DTM

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BMW 2002 turbo (1977) - Walter Röhrl in the Schnitzer-BMW in the 1977 DTM in a tough infight

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Walter Röhrl in the Opel Kadett GTE - driving fast at the 1976 Monte Carlo Rally - 4th place directly after the three best-placed Lancia Stratos

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Porsche 924 Carrera GTS Rally (1981) - Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer at the 1981 Metz Rally

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Lancia Beta Montecalro (1980) - Walter Röhrl's contribution to winning the 1980 World Endurance Championship up to two liters

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Fiat 131 Abarth - Mouton/Arrii in the Fiat 131 Abarth at the 1980 Monte Carlo Rally - Röhrl/Geistdörfer take victory

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 - Walter Röhrl with co-driver Geistdörfer on Quattro Group B on a special stage of the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally

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Audi Sport Quattro E2 (1987) - Walter Röhrl on Pikes Peak 1987

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Walter Röhrl in the Audi Sport Quattro E2 at the Pikes Peak Hillclimb

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Walter Röhrl mastered Pikes Peak in 1987 with an average speed of 111 km/h

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Audi S1 (1987) - Walter Röhrl on his Pikes Peak record drive

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Walter Röhrl wins the coveted Pikes Peak trophy in 1987

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Walter Röhrl returns to Pikes Peak in the USA with his Audi Sport Quattro E2 after 25 years

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Audi V8 Quattro DTM (1990) - Stuck and Röhrl at the Norisring

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Audi V8 Quattro DTM (1990) - DTM racing car for the drivers Hans-Joachim Stuck and Walter Röhrl

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Audi 200 quattro Trans Am (1988) - Röhrl and Stuck loading the racing quattro onto the plane

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Walter Röhrl in the cockpit of the IMSA Audi

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Audi 90 quattro IMSA-GTO (1988) - Walter Röhrl in the cockpit

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Stuck and Röhrl at the sixth IMSA GTO championship race in Mosport in 1989

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Concentrated PS celebrities - Fittipaldi, Stommelen, Ertl, Röhrl, Hahne

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Oops, so late already? Walter Röhrl in his element

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Saalbach-Classic 2014 - What Walter Röhrl is probably happy about here

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Walter Röhrl is always up for a joke, like here at the Planai-Classic 1998

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Austin Healey Mk II (1962) - Walter Röhrl gets ready for the start - First Ennstal Classic 1993

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Impressions from the Saalbach Classic 2013 - Walter Röhrl takes a look at the mountains

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Saalbach-Classic 2014 - The good-humored Walter Röhrl in a Porsche

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Walter Röhrl in the Porsche 962C (1989) - at the Classic Days Schloss Dyck 2018

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Saalbach-Classic 2014 - With the right hat, the rain doesn't bother Walter Röhrl

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Summary

Walter Röhrl will be 76 years young on March 7, 2023. Just over 50 years earlier, his life had turned a full 180 degrees on the occasion of the Olympic Rally. We all know that the long-time Regensburg native is a two-time World Rally Champion and four-time winner of the Monte Carlo Rally in four different vehicles. But there are always things that are much less well known.

This article contains the following chapters

Too dangerous ... for the spectators
From record keeper to rally driver
European champion in the Ascona in the first year
Once in a Formula 1 car
Once in a Porsche 962 Group C
Once at Pikes Peak
Prominent

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Whenever "der Lange" gives one of his fantastic presentations somewhere and a film is shown of how they raced through the crowds in the Group B cars with over 500 hp, Walter is gripped by the pure fear that the people present might declare him crazy. But that was the case back then, and the drivers simply had to ignore the numerous fans. They simply weren't there. "But from today's perspective, I have to say that we were pretty stupid, but thank God nothing ever happened to me," comments Röhrl. Fortunately for everyone involved, very little happened. At the 1987 Portugal Rally, however, a Ford RS 200 flew into the fans and killed several of them. That was the point when Röhrl stood up and, although he still had a chance of winning, said: "I'm not going to drive like this any more."

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