Walter Röhrl Turns 75 Years Old Today, This Is Why He Is a Rally Legend

Walter Röhrl spent his formative years rowing, skiing, and even playing ping-pong. Things were a lot different in the 1950s than they are today, so entertainment was limited. That did not stop Walter from improving his skills, especially with balance and shifting weight, which would come in useful later.

It came as no surprise that Walter became a qualified skiing instructor while he was studying commerce. He would eventually be hired as a driver for the Bishop's Ordinariate in Regensburg after he got his driving license. The job would have him driving a lot, which was another thing that proved favorable for the young Röhrl, who was the youngest of three brothers.

Also in his formative years, his elder brother, Michael, was a big part of Walter's life. He was ten years his senior and drove a Porsche 356. In various interviews offered by Walter over the years, he explained that his brother was his first hero, and he was determined to be good at skiing, as well as to get a Porsche. His brother reportedly told him to "save up to have a nice first car," which was a Porsche 356 B Coupé.

Sadly, shortly after Walter obtained his driver's license, his brother perished in a traffic accident, which led to his parents being against anything related to racing for their youngest. A career in skiing was also a no-go after Walter had sustained a serious injury to one of his feet.

Despite the sadness that cannot be explained in words, Walter Röhrl still had the courage to go racing. As the German rally legend explained, his friend, Herbert Marecek, a fellow skier, pushed him to go racing.

Röhrl entered his first rally event in a Fiat 850, with a friend by his side as his first co-driver. He finished the 1968 Rally Bavaria in second place time-wise, but missing a checkpoint control resulted in a significant time penalty.

From that point on, Walter had entered several rallies, five in the first three years, in various vehicles he had borrowed. His friend relentlessly wrote to sports newspapers across Germany to spread the word about the "best driver in the world, who deserves a contract." After the fifth event was completed independently, Walter Röhrl got signed by Ford and started driving a Capri.

Two years later, a team running Opel cars snatched Röhrl from Ford and got him to race in the WRC, starting with the 1973 season. He began with the Commodore, and then moved on to the Ascona and the Kadett GT/E. Things did not go well, as he only acquired one WRC win with Opel at the time, but did win the title of European Rally Champion in 1974. The next year, Rohrl was a member of Fiat's factory team.

The Italian team offered Rohrl a Fiat 131 Abarth, which he led to victory in later rallies. His first world championship title arrived in 1980, after he had won four rallies, finishes second in two others, and fifth in Greece. At the time, Walter Rohrl was the youngest World Rally Champion, at 33 years and 232 days old. He was succeeded next year by Ari Vatanen, who was 29 years and 212 days old when he got the title in 1981.

For Röhrl, though, the 1981 season was not so fruitful rally-wise, but he won his class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year in a Porsche 944 LM.
The year 1982 had him back in an Opel, this time in an Ascona 400 for the factory team, which meant a second Monte Carlo WRC win, and later, his second World Championship title.

The year 1983 brought Rohrl his third win in Monte Carlo, this time with a Lancia 037 Rally, which he later described as the competition car best suited for his style. Röhrl finished the World Championship in second place that year, beaten by Hannu Mikkola in an Audi by just two points overall, while Lancia got the manufacturer's title.

Röhrl entered the 1984 Monte Carlo Rally in an Audi Quattro A2 and won the race, which made for a third consecutive win in this event, fourth overall for Röhrl. With that fourth Monte Carlo victory, it is easy to understand why some refer to him as The Master of the Monte.

His best championship result with the Audi Sport team was third overall in the 1985 season, though. While he was a works driver for Audi Sport, he had success in the TransAm and IMSA series in the U.S., as well as in the DTM, not to mention winning the 1987 edition of the Pikes Peak hill climb.

Walter Röhrl also competed in 24-hour races on the Nürburgring, as well as in many other events. His ties with Porsche were strengthened over the years. Since 1993, Röhrl became a brand ambassador for Porsche, as well as a development driver for the marque. Check out his present from Porsche on his 74th birthday.

Besides helping develop some models, Walter Röhrl also set a few record lap times on the "Green Hell," as well as trained drivers on ice through the company's school.

As Porsche notes, Walter Röhrl is on the road for over 100 days per year. While three other drivers have won the Monte Carlo rally just as many times as Walter, and just two won it more times than him, only one, Sébastien Ogier, can pride himself on matching the performance of winning “the Monte” in four different makes. It took three decades for that to happen.