We always enjoy talking about what happens when racing legend Walter Rohrl is... Walter Rohrl on a track. Last time we discussed it, Porsche’s retired-yet-still-active works driver was manhandling a 911 GT3 RS with the most casual facial expression ever. Unfortunately, things don’t always go that smoothly, even when you’re Walter Rohrl and you’re driving a Porsche 918 Spyder.
The racing driver, whose earlier results include two World Rally Championship titles, was recently out on the Sachsenring track in Germany, when he crashed the hybrid hypercar.
Rohrl was out in a Weissach Package-fitted 918 that was wearing the Martini livery, so things couldn’t get more Porsche than that. He was running the track in clockwise configuration, contrary to the usual layout, when disaster struck during the Sachsen Kurve bend.
The details of the accident
In this track specification, that corner comes after a straight that allows cars such as this Porsche to dig well into triple-digit territory, so 120 mph (200 km/h) is a safe assumption. The 13 percent slope that follows wasn’t exactly helpful here. By the way, you have the map of the 3.7 km (2.3 miles) circuit below the video - keep that usual configuration in mind.
The hypercar’s rear end goes sliding towards the end of the bend. We don’t have the full scenario that lead to the crash, but it all seems to happen in the blink of an eye.
We knew Rohrl as the calm, composed driver
That is correct. Once the driver realises he can’t bring the 918 back on track, he performs a sideways trick, keeping the car sliding for as long as possible, with the aim being to kill a part of that velocity.
This is one of those rare occasions when a piece of footage allows us to see everything in what appears like slow motion - as some of you know, a trained driver does have this view when a crash happens in real life.
Thus, we notice Rohrl planning his moves and the car following this painful dance. Eventually, the Porsche sideswipes the protection element on the side of the track.
Rohrl takes the time to talk about the crash once he reaches the pits. As we’ve said in the past, our German is in dire need of a Weissach Package, but it seems like he explains that there was something on the track that led to the loss of control, since he had passed that corner well on the throttle without any negative consequences.
Come to think of it, the 918 Spyder holds the Sachsenring track record at 1:30:34.
Fortunately, Rohrl was not injured in the accident. As for the car, the sounds that emerge right after the impact show the hypercar will need more than just a few carbon fiber panel to return to the action. Especially now that all 918 units of the model have left the factory, we’re pretty sure fixing it won’t be an issue.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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