Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German
rally
Rally or rallye may refer to:
Gatherings
* Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade
* Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event
Sport ...
and
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
driver, with victories for
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...
,
Opel
Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
,
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
and
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
The origins of the compa ...
as well as
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
,
Ford and
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
. Röhrl had 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including winning the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
twice: in 1980 in a Fiat Abarth and in 1982 while driving for Opel. He has also competed in other forms of motorsport, such as endurance racing, winning in the GTP +3.0 class in the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
with the Porsche System team. Röhrl also set the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile Hillclimbing, hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. The track measures and has over 156 tur ...
record in 1987 driving an
Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2. He is often regarded as one of the greatest rally drivers of all time.
Career
Röhrl grew up as the youngest of three children of a stonemason in Regensburg, Bavaria, near
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. His parents separated when he was ten years old. From then on he lived with his mother. After leaving school he completed a commercial education at Bishop's Ordinariate Regensburg. At the age of 16, Röhrl began working for the commercial director of a company that legally represented the
Bishop of Regensburg
The Bishops of Regensburg (; or ) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. along with six further Bishops in
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, and skied in his spare time. In time he became a qualified ski instructor and a keen driver, and became the chauffeur to the commercial director, covering up to 120,000 kilometres annually. Röhrl was invited to drive his first rally in 1968.
Röhrl was a
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
favourite throughout the 1970s and 1980s, winning the
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo) is a rallying event organized each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. From its inception in 1911 by Albert I, Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert I, the rally ...
four times with four different marques. His co-driver for many years was
Christian Geistdörfer. His
Fiat 131
The Fiat 131 is a mid-size family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1974 to 1984 after its debut at the Turin Motor Show#1974, 1974 Turin Motor Show. Available as a two-door and four-door Saloon (car), saloon and 5-door station wagon, ...
Abarth carried him to the
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
title, clinched with his victory in that year's
San Remo rally, but it was arguably his equivalent success in
1982
Events
January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
that impressed most of all, with Röhrl fending off four-wheel drive opposition, led by
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
The origins of the compa ...
's resurgent
Michèle Mouton, to take the title, by virtue of consistency, in his increasingly outmoded rear-drive
Opel Ascona
The Opel Ascona is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) that was produced by the German automaker Opel from 1970 to 1988. It was produced in three separate generations, beginning with rear-wheel-drive and ending up as a front-wheel drive J-c ...
400. It was also during this time that he won the
African Rally Championship, in 1982. However, shortly after winning the championship he was fired from the team by team manager
Tony Fall because he disliked competing in the RAC rally (the rally he had little success in). Röhrl had already had severe arguments with Fall about publicity activities for the team sponsor, tobacco company
Rothmans. Röhrl, as a strict nonsmoker, refused to do any filming for Rothmans publicity spots, claiming that he had been hired as a driver, not an actor, and that he could not see any sense in promoting tobacco as a nonsmoker.

In
1983
1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, he joined
Lancia
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...
to pilot the new, rear-wheel drive
Lancia 037, before finally changing his machinery, in
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, to the four-wheel drive
Audi Quattro
The Audi Quattro is a road and rally car, produced by the German automobile manufacturer Audi, part of the Volkswagen Group. It was first shown at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show on 3 March. Production continued through 1991.
Background
The wor ...
, a car produced in his home state of
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
.
In 1987 Röhrl set up a new record in the
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile Hillclimbing, hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. The track measures and has over 156 tur ...
for being the first driver to win the 12.42 miles (19.99 km) long mountain track to the
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, ...
in less than 11 minutes. In his 600 hp (440 kW)
Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 he did the American hillclimb in 10 minutes and 47.850 seconds to reach Pikes Peak on the road which at that time was mainly covered with gravel.
Despite being selective in his choice of top-level events (he declined to do the
1000 Lakes Rally in Finland due to his dislike of jumps and cars getting airborne, he did the RAC Rally in Britain only once more after 1979 and he only did the
Swedish Rally twice, despite finishing third in 1982), albeit during a time when this was a less unusual occurrence for top-line drivers in the championship, Röhrl still scored 14 WRC victories in his career.
Röhrl was also successful in road racing events, and was called "Genius on Wheels" by
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
. In the 1992
24 Hours Nürburgring
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
Evolution of the H ...
race which saw fog and heavy rain in the night, he hardly slowed down, anticipating the corners by timing. The race was nevertheless interrupted for hours.
In Italy, he was elected "Rallye driver of the century". In France he was elected "Rallye driver of the millennium" in November 2000. A jury out of 100 worldwide motorsports experts meeting in Italy elected him "Best Rallye driver ever".
In recent years, he has been retained as the senior test driver for Porsche road cars, setting quick laptimes for them testing round the
Nürburgring Nordschleife, for example with the
Porsche Carrera GT
The Porsche Carrera GT (Project Code 980) is a mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 2003 to 2006. ''Sports Car International'' named the Carrera GT number one on its list of Sports Car Intern ...
.
Röhrl was expected to make his competitive return to the Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2010 at the wheel of a
Porsche 911 GT3 RS. However, he was forced to withdraw from the event due to a back injury. It was to be his first 24-hour race in 17 years, since his last start in 1993. In 2011, Röhrl was inducted into the
Rally Hall of Fame along with
Hannu Mikkola
Hannu Olavi Mikkola (24 May 1942 − 25 February 2021) was a Finns, Finnish champion world rallying, rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times.
Career
Mikkola ...
and in July 2016 was inducted into
Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
Complete WRC results
WRC victories
24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
External links
Webpage from Walter RöhrlWalter Röhrl at rallybase.nl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrl, Walter
1947 births
Living people
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers
European Rally Championship drivers
German rally drivers
Sportspeople from Regensburg
Porsche Supercup drivers
Trans-Am Series drivers
World Rally Champions
World Rally Championship drivers
World Sportscar Championship drivers
Racing drivers from Bavaria
Porsche Motorsports drivers
Audi Sport drivers
German racing drivers