He immediately remembers a race from the legendary 1983 season: “The Hunsrück Rally in July. It was also a European Championship race, so there were a number of top international teams on the slopes,” says Erwin Weber. “And a special stage was really tough.” The pictures become clearer. “On the grounds of a US Army training area. Endless curves, lots of gravel, thick concrete posts left and right. These normally served as travel restrictions for tanks. The last thing you wanted to do was crash into it.” That’s why full concentration was required over the approximately 70-kilometer route.
“I have rarely been so accomplished in such a short time,” recalls the now 64-year-old of the moment when he drove his Manta 400 across the finish line after around three quarters of an hour. But the hard work was worth it: at the end of the day, he and his co-driver Gunter Wanger had won the rally. It was their third win of the season in a row. Weber/Wanger had previously won the Vorderpfalz and Hesse rallies. And slowly word got around in the scene: Erwin Weber, this young guy, can actually do it. Get the title. Become German rally champion. He was 24 years old at the time. It is his third year as a professional in the Opel factory team.
After three victories, word is getting around in the scene: the youngster Erwin Weber can actually do it. Get the title.
The young man from Neufahrn near Munich was competing in the junior series when Opel team boss Jochen Berger noticed him. Weber drove a 1200 Kadett C with 60 hp. How did he come to the brand before Opel hired him? “I was passionate about racing, wanted to do rallies myself and the conversion kit was reasonably affordable. As a trained machinist, I didn’t earn much, so there wasn’t much choice for me: it had to be a C cadet.”
Teachers are called Berger, Aaltonen, Röhrl
Once again, Jochen Berger’s eye for talent proves itself. The new guy is making quick progress. Also because he has good teachers. In addition to Jochen Berger, there is Rauno Aaltonen. Known as “the flying Finn” during his active days, he is now known as the “rally professor” when he serves as a trainer and advisor. Erwin Weber knows why. “I did many laps with him at the Dudenhofen test center – and learned an incredible amount from him.”
And then of course there was Walter Röhrl. “The Tall One”, now in his thirties, returned to Opel for a season in 1982. “He was the idol of all young German drivers back then; we didn’t have any successful Formula 1 drivers back then,” says Erwin Weber. Röhrl and Jochen Berger had already become European rally champions with Opel in 1974. Röhrl later won the German championship and the world championship title with Fiat. He secured it again in 1982, this time for Opel, with an Ascona 400 – and on training days together he repeatedly gave valuable tips to the young man who wanted to emulate him.
The mechanics named the Manta 400 the “Fast Breeder.”
The drinking bottle predicted it: Erwin Weber will win the title at the end of the season.
At the same time, team boss Berger gave his youngster enough freedom to study vehicle technology. In his first year as a professional, Erwin Weber was able to gain experience in two European Championship races, and in the second year he took part in a total of five DM rallies. In an Ascona B i2000 with twice as much horsepower lurking under the hood as in his Kadett C from the junior series. “That was a huge change.” However, the talented pilot managed it quickly.
Before the 1983 season, Berger surprised his young man with the news: He should contest the upcoming German Rally Championship – completely. However, the youngster needs experience at his side. Berger’s choice falls on Gunter Wanger. The man from Ludwigshafen is five years older than Weber and has already completed countless rally kilometers with “Jochi” Kleint in the driver’s seat. In 1979 he won the European Championship title with Kleint with a Kadett GT/E and an Ascona B.
At the first meeting, the teacher Walter Röhrl is only 33 seconds faster than his student.
Weber/Weber start the season with an Ascona 400. Because the successor that was actually planned for this series is delayed, the “homologation”, the production of the required number of units that must be proven for a vehicle before it receives competition approval.
In their first three rallies, Weber and Wanger achieved three third places. That’s not bad at all. At the third start, the Saarland Rally, a special kind of challenge awaits: Erwin Weber has to compete against his idol. Walter Röhrl and his partner Christian Geistdörfer are now driving for Lancia, but they will only compete in three DM races this season, so they will not be long-term competition. In this first direct meeting, the old champion is just ahead, coming second behind the French Michéle Mouton and Arwed Fischer. With a total time of 3:03:26 hours, the teacher is only 33 seconds faster than his student.
At the Hessen Rally, Weber/Wanger took the first of three victories.
The four-cylinder in-line engine with 16 valves produced 275 hp (202 kW) at 7,250 rpm.
The two Opel drivers were then allowed to switch to the Manta 400. Further developed as a rally vehicle based on the successful Ascona B, it was still equipped with rear-wheel drive, although it was slowly going out of fashion at the time. The Manta 400 trumps the Manta GT/E with a drag coefficient that has been further improved from 0.41 to 0.386. It has also become a bit wider. If necessary, 285 tires should also be accommodated in the wheel arches.
Opel sports director Tony Fall has decided not to use the turbo drive, which is becoming increasingly popular in rally racing. He doesn’t think the technology is advanced enough yet. He was also convinced that it was not the fastest cars that won the rallies, but the most stable ones. With 275 hp, the conventional four-cylinder in-line engine with 16 valves had enough power to put the competition in their place.
The Opel team is celebrating the German championship a week late.
The trade magazine “Zwischengas” would later name the Manta 400 “the best Group B rally car without all-wheel drive and turbo”. The Opel mechanics called the racing machine a “fast breeder” during the construction phase. It was finally tested at the Corsica Rally and as a lead vehicle at the Vogelsberg Rally in March and April. Weber and Wanger achieved fourth place on their Manta debut at the rally in Metz, Alsace. The pilot is then completely familiar with the new vehicle. It’s not entirely unknown to him. “I had previously driven Manta privately.”
These three wins in a row follow. They then came second at the Reichswald Rally. They dropped out of the penultimate race, the Germany Rally. At the finale, at the 3-city rally in southern Bavaria, they crossed the finish line again in second place. For what reason? Because Erwin Weber has to let his idol go first again. This time Walter Röhrl is almost nine minutes faster than him.
Thanks to many private drivers, Opel also became brand world champion in 1983.
It is Erwin Weber’s third year as a professional in the Opel factory team. At his side: the experienced – Gunter Wanger (left).
Curious: “Only an Austrian was declared the winner in the overall ranking,” says Gunter Wanger. “But after just a few hours, rumors started circulating that something wasn’t right.” A few days later it was certain: “The man no longer had a valid driver’s license in Germany and he was taken out of the rankings.” The German championship was celebrated the Opel team then arrived a week late. “But that still worked,” remembers Gunter Wanger. Today, the 69-year-old is enjoying his retirement in Rüsselsheim.
In the following two years, Weber and Wanger no longer competed in a complete DM series, but were successful in individual races, both nationally and internationally. And once they were able to drive the famous Paris-Dakar Rally with their Manta – “a great experience, that’s when I also discovered my love for Africa,” reports Erwin Weber. The team crosses the finish line as the best rear-wheel drive vehicle and fourth overall. It is the last major international success for the Manta 400.
Successful career as an entrepreneur
Erwin Weber left Opel in 1985, became German rally champion again with Seat in 1991 and European champion in 1992. “That’s where I had my greatest successes at the beginning and towards the end of my career, what more could you want.” After his active career, he worked as a team boss at Seat for a few more years – “and in this role, Jochen Berger was always my great role model.” After After leaving motorsport, Erwin Weber founded a company that initially successfully focused on tuning parts and later on transport systems and conventional vehicle parts. Which he integrated into online trading early on. He always liked to be at the front.
Which success was his most beautiful? You shouldn’t ask someone like that for whom motorsport has always been more of a calling than a job. “Actually, every single race was unforgettable for me – in the 1983 season anyway.” And he never completely got away from motorsport anyway: “As long as one wheel on my car is still turning, I want to drive.”
October 2023
Text: Eric Scherer, photos: Opel Archive, private