Walter Röhrl was also successful in road racing events, and was called Genius on Wheels by Niki Lauda.
Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements including winning the World Rally Championship 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 in 1981 with the Porsche System team.
In the 1992 24 Hours Nürburgring 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.
Walter Röhrl
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Walter Röhrl Interview
Wer keine Angst hat, muss etwas hohl im Kopf sein
Despite being selective in his choice of top-level events (he declined to do the famed 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 3rd in 1982) albeit during a time when this was a less unusual occurrence for top-line drivers in the championship, Rohrl still scored 14 WRC victories in his career.
