Audi 2009 Annual Report Download - page 34

he motivation of wanting to achieve something in
my life has been spurring me on ever since I was a
small boy. A deeply ingrained drive toward perfec-
tion, combined with an almost obsessive ambition. I’ve
never considered this perpetual lust for life, the fascina-
tion with anything new, and my readiness to fight for
things as a burden. Quite the contrary.
I have often asked myself what might have made me that
way. And I really believe that the cause is related to my
red hair. I had my feelings hurt many times as a child
because of my hair color. As a little boy I’d fight anybody
who’d tease me about my red hair. It didn’t matter if the
guy was six feet tall – I’d have a go at him. This defensive
stance, not letting anyone get away with putdowns, had a
formative influence on my character. I became unusually
proactive in facing challenges head-on. I should make
one thing clear though: I’ve not gotten into any tussles
since I was 12. But even when I’m out cycling with a
bunch of athletes 20 years younger, I won’t accept that
they’re in better physical shape than I am. So I’m usually
also the first to reach the top of the hill. Simply because
I’ve absolutely made up my mind to do it. As a rally driver
I never intended to win a race by just a one-second mar-
gin. Those blink-of-the-eye decisions which many in the
sport find so thrilling just don’t do it for me. I want to
win by a ten-minute lead. Because only a big lead shows
you’ve really got class.
Actually, the thrill of speed doesn’t move me either. Nor
does collecting titles and awards. Absolutely the only
thing I care about is total control. I want to be in com-
mand of my cars as though they’re a part of my body.
I want to become one with my car. Unfortunately, the
satisfaction when this happens doesn’t compare with the
dissatisfaction that troubles me when it doesn’t. Even the
earlier successes in auto racing haven’t endowed me with
lasting self-esteem. What it comes down to is that I am
constantly fluctuating between self-doubts and delusions
of grandeur. What has spurred me on throughout my
life is the fact that I have never, not even in my most tri-
umphant periods, believed that I was the best. Even hav-
ing reached my highest goal as a racer, winning the cele-
brated Monte Carlo Rally, failed to quench my ambition.
That’s the only way I was able to win it four times, with
four different car brands. The fourth victory in 1984 in an
Audi ranks among the absolute highlights of my career.
I was always a bit intimidated by conventional circuit
races. For one thing, because there were so many people
there. They actually made me nervous. What I’d have
liked best would have been driving through the woods at
night. Because I basically just wanted to know in my own
head whether I was really good. Another reason was that
the winner in a circuit race is usually the driver who uses
his elbows. But I’d much rather run a clean race, always
searching for the racing line.
The most fascinating race against the clock was “Pikes
Peak Race to the Clouds” in Colorado, in 1987. A crazy
hillclimb race covering 19.9 kilometers with 156 curves.
1,500 vertical meters separate the start from the finish.
Until just before the start I felt uncertain and nervous.
We weren’t sure whether we had succeeded in perfecting
the technical condition of the Audi Sport quattro S1 with
its 500-plus hp engine. But even after the first few me-
ters I felt the car was zooming up the hill as if on rails.
With a driving time of 10 minutes and 47.85 seconds I
set a new course record. I enjoyed every fraction of a
second of this hillclimb race. I’ve rarely been so totally
happy as in these not quite 11 minutes. Though when I’m
watching the video footage today that was shot from a
helicopter, how the mountain drops away sharply from
the road right and left, in places for hundreds of meters –
like off the edge of a table – and how half of one front
wheel or the other sticks out over the abyss in every turn,
I have to say: Today I’d have doubts. Back then I felt
infallible.
What always excited me was the adventure, anything
new. That’s what ultimately motivated me in 1984 to
switch to Audi. Up to that time I had driven cars with
rear-wheel drive for 20 years. Then I succumbed to the
fascination of all-wheel drive. Converting the enormous
propulsive forces into motion, that was the special quat-
tro feeling. Just a small touch on the gas pedal sufficed
to get more than 500 horsepower to rage on the road,
perfectly coordinated and under control.
What sets Audi apart is that the quality of its rally cars is
always reflected in the high standards of its production
vehicles. In the early years of our relationship, we 
31
T
On his very first drive for Audi, Walter Röhrl succumbed to
the fascination of quattro all-wheel drive.
Steep, steeper, Pikes Peak: In 1987, Walter Röhrl was the first
person to surmount the 1,500 vertical meters and 156 curves of
Colorado’s famous hillclimb race in less than 11 minutes.
“
Absolutely the only thing I care
about is total control. I want to be
in command of my cars as though
they’re a part of my body.”
Walter Röhrl, rally legend
HOT WHEELS
Rally icon meets car legend – join Walter Röhrl in the
Audi Sport quattro S1 at: w
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