25.12.2025Walter Röhrl: Monte-victory as the highlight of the career

In his impressive career, Walter Röhrl racked up 14 victories in the World Rally Championship. Four of these came at the legendary Monte Carlo Rally alone. This is by no means a record. Sébastien Ogier holds the top spot with an outstanding ten wins, ahead of Sébastien Loeb, who triumphed eight times. Röhrl shares third place in the all-time standings with Jean Trévoux, Sandro Munari, and Tommi Mäkinen. However, Röhrl is the only driver in this quartet to have achieved his four victories with four different manufacturers.

This is a particularly remarkable achievement at the demanding Monte Carlo Rally. It is often referred to as the "mother" or "queen" of rallies. Its history is unique. The event was first held in 1911 – originally to attract tourists to the region. Numerous changes over the decades led to the rally's inclusion on the World Championship calendar in 1973. Since then, with few exceptions, it has marked the start of the season.

The rally headquarters is located in the heart of the Principality of Monaco. The special stages themselves, however, take place in the mountains behind the headquarters. The treacherous road conditions present the drivers with an enormous challenge and were exactly what Walter Röhrl needed.

He and his regular co-driver, Christian Geistdörfer, secured two of his four Monte Carlo Rally victories during their two World Championship-winning seasons in 1980 and 1982. In their first win, driving a Fiat 131 Abarth, the duo left the competition more than ten minutes behind. This dominant performance laid the foundation for a successful season that included two further victories and ultimately the World Championship title.

Röhrl and Geistdörfer thus laid the foundation for a successful season that included two more wins and ultimately the World Championship title. Equally impressive was their second Monte Carlo victory in 1982. Röhrl and Geistdörfer's Opel Ascona 400 had a 2.4-liter engine producing 260 hp and rear-wheel drive, making it, on paper, inferior to the powerful, all-wheel-drive Audi quattro. Nevertheless, they won the 50th anniversary Monte Carlo Rally. The same was true later in the World Rally Championship battle. Although Audi won more races overall, the consistently strong results of Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer ultimately proved decisive.

WERK83 has released faithful models in scale 1:18 of the two winning cars from the 1980 and 1982 Monte Carlo Rallyes, expanding the Röhrl model range available at ck-modelcars.

Fiat 131 Abarth #10, winner of the 1980 Monte Carlo Rally, driven by Röhrl and Geistdörfer, MSRP €79.95, item-no.: W18006001

Opel Ascona 400 Night Version #2, winner of the 1982 Monte Carlo Rally, MSRP €79.95, item-no.: W18006101

prodotti

	Fiat 131 Abarth #10 vincitore Rallye Monte Carlo 1980 Röhrl, Geistdörfer 1:18 WERK83	71,96 €
	Opel Ascona 400 Night Version #2 Vincitore Rallye Monte Carlo 1982 Röhrl, Geistdörfer 1:18 WERK83	71,96 €