Monday 13th January 2014

Rohrl in the Quattro: Time For Tea?

So we're agreed Rohrl is a bit of a dude? Here's further evidence

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It's not hard to get a bit rose tinted about Group B rallying and the heroes that contested it. Even Walter Rohrl described it as "the best time" in his illustrious career when we met him last week at Autosport - if you haven't already check out the full interview here.

Here then is some evidence of why he might have picked this period as the coolest thing he's ever done. It's a suspiciously well edited piece of footage of him in the Group B Audi Sport Quattro, all Fast And Furious footwork and gearchanges and steely-eyed close-ups of the meister at work spliced with genuine onboard footage. But no stylised depiction of fast driving could match this for sheer drama and whether the interior shots actually match the exterior action or not you get the point. Driving a Group B Quattro at this kind of speed took a big pair, as well as plenty of fancy footwork. And a casual disregard for sliding a car at three-figure speeds between human crash barriers.

Enjoy!

 

[strummerville]

Ive not seen this for a while, but it never fails to impress. At least I was around to see the Group B stuff for real!

[fatboy69]

Epic stuff - you forget just how quick those Group B cars were until you watch these videos again.

And you also forget just how nuts the spectators were as well. How late do some of them leave it before they decided to move out of the road?

Terrifying to watch so you can only wonder just how scared the drivers were!

More please.

[MikeyBoy2000]

Get down on your knees.......! None of us are worthy in his presence..

Absolute Master...

[ArmaghMan]

Never saw Rohrl drive in anger, but was fortunate enough to see Mouton in the SWB Quattro on the circuit of Ireland in 1985, down a long straight , then hard on the brakes, then accelerate away. Wheelspin in every gear up trough the box on dry Tarmac. How anyone, Rohrl included drove those beast!!

[rohrl]

This is why I chose my username.

edit - Walter works for Porsche now. Here he is driving and discussing the 918 Spyder at the Nurburgring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URA15FCZHBM

Edited by rohrl on Monday 13th January 16:34

[Turbobanana]

Article said: "So we're agreed Rohrl is a bit of a dude?"

Wikipedia says: "Dude...a person who dressed in an extremely fashion-forward manner (a dandy)"

Joking aside - top bloke.

[urquattro]

top man, take a look at his eyes in the video clip.

also he drove the wheels of off stacks more cars, probably the audi monster 200 ? eventually banned in u.s.a. - someone please update/correct.

[fatboy69]

ArmaghMan said:

Never saw Rohrl drive in anger, but was fortunate enough to see Mouton in the SWB Quattro on the circuit of Ireland in 1985, down a long straight , then hard on the brakes, then accelerate away. Wheelspin in every gear up trough the box on dry Tarmac. How anyone, Rohrl included drove those beast!!

Mmmm.

Ms Mouton.... I was lucky enough to be in the passenger seat of a standard Quattro many many years ago with Ms Mouton driving in anger.

This was at Donington Park during one of the Rally Sprints (anyone else remember these end of season events?) when i won a raffle draw where the prizes on offer were the usual assortment of tat (rally jackets, hats, signed photos etc) & a ride with Michelle.

Bizzarely the first prize winner probably chose a jacket or some other piece of tat because i won a runner up prize & was offered another jacket or a ride in the passenger seat of a properly driven Quattro.

Even though my own ride for the day was a road going Quattro i took the passenger ride - as you do for obvious reasons.

All i can say was/is 'fk me'.

It was sublime - the noise, the speed, the proximity of the trees, the gravel hitting the underneath of the car... All those things added up to a top class prize.

I think i was thrown around the Donington Park special stage (a mixture of gravel & the GP circuit) for around half an hour.

It was mind-blowing stuff & the memory still lives with me too this day as it was one of those 'special moments'.

So happy that i was around in the days of Group B & that i saw these beasts in action.

[Digga]

Simply staggering. We will sadly never see the like of that level of driver, in that level of rally car, on roads full of spectators. It was a golden era for the sport and you look back on it with utter admiration for just how bonkers the whole thing was.

[debateaments]

The footwork alone is enough to mesmerize.

[rohrl]

Digga said:

Simply staggering. We will sadly never see the like of that level of driver, in that level of rally car, on roads full of spectators. It was a golden era for the sport and you look back on it with utter admiration for just how bonkers the whole thing was.

Group B was indeed a golden era and Walter was a great driver in his era, though IMO he wasn't quite as good as Ari Vatanen or the late Henri Toivonen but you can't really argue that Seb Loeb isn't a simply fantastic driver. It's not his fault he was born too late for Group B.

If Group B returned tomorrow it just wouldn't be acceptable in risk terms, even if all the spectators were penned in properly.

[Digga]

rohrl said:

Digga said:

Simply staggering. We will sadly never see the like of that level of driver, in that level of rally car, on roads full of spectators. It was a golden era for the sport and you look back on it with utter admiration for just how bonkers the whole thing was.

Group B was indeed a golden era and Walter was a great driver in his era, though IMO he wasn't quite as good as Ari Vatanen or the late Henri Toivonen but you can't really argue that Seb Loeb isn't a simply fantastic driver. It's not his fault he was born too late for Group B.

If Group B returned tomorrow it just wouldn't be acceptable in risk terms, even if all the spectators were penned in properly.

No, I'm sure Loeb would give it a very good crack, but sadly we'll never know. As you say, the guys (and women - Mouton) of that era really earned their spurs.

It's the same as looking at Moss' Mille Miglia victory - there's no real means of drawing contemporary prallels. You just have to love the era(s) for what it was and Group B was monstrous, awesome.

[anonymous-user]

This to me is the most impressive footage of Mr Röhrl in the S1 Quattro.

No helmet or fireproof overalls in a group B monster.

Not sure if this is a fan sitting next to him or whether they are reviewing the stage?

Amazing anyway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJk0NHW1Hps

[jamespink]

fatboy69 said:

ArmaghMan said:

Never saw Rohrl drive in anger, but was fortunate enough to see Mouton in the SWB Quattro on the circuit of Ireland in 1985, down a long straight , then hard on the brakes, then accelerate away. Wheelspin in every gear up trough the box on dry Tarmac. How anyone, Rohrl included drove those beast!!

Mmmm.

Ms Mouton.... I was lucky enough to be in the passenger seat of a standard Quattro many many years ago with Ms Mouton driving in anger.

This was at Donington Park during one of the Rally Sprints (anyone else remember these end of season events?) when i won a raffle draw where the prizes on offer were the usual assortment of tat (rally jackets, hats, signed photos etc) & a ride with Michelle.

Bizzarely the first prize winner probably chose a jacket or some other piece of tat because i won a runner up prize & was offered another jacket or a ride in the passenger seat of a properly driven Quattro.

Even though my own ride for the day was a road going Quattro i took the passenger ride - as you do for obvious reasons.

All i can say was/is 'fk me'.

It was sublime - the noise, the speed, the proximity of the trees, the gravel hitting the underneath of the car... All those things added up to a top class prize.

I think i was thrown around the Donington Park special stage (a mixture of gravel & the GP circuit) for around half an hour.

It was mind-blowing stuff & the memory still lives with me too this day as it was one of those 'special moments'.

So happy that i was around in the days of Group B & that i saw these beasts in action.

I remember a downpour at Goodwood just as the last cars of the day were going up. FTD was at that point set in the near dry but Mouton slid and drifted her SWB Quatro all over the track/grass to better the time. Plumes of Goodwood turf. Wonderful Group B stuff!

[Burnham]

debateaments said:

The footwork alone is enough to mesmerize.

Indeed! Also, its no wonder so may spectators got squashed. Gotta wonder what some of them were thinking.

[Baz2000]

A childhood hero of mine, cracking stuff.

[anonymous-user]

Different subject but R.I.P John Button.

I am sure all Motorsport fans are shocked at the news.

[Yertis]

Nice video. [wanders off to look at A4 Tdis in the classifieds]

[McSam]

Always worth revisiting, this one, and now I'll go and watch Climb Dance to follow.

But I will never understand how the people who put these videos together can think it's OK to screw up the sound. At several points it's glaringly wrong and it's annoying, because that's an important part of the experience.

[Graculus]

I well remember watching Rohrl destroy the rest of the field on the 1984 Ulster Rally.

Some nice footage of him (and others) in that event here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb54Czy8Je8

Scary to think it was thirty years ago...