They had already scored a whopping 100 points – Walter Röhrl and Jochen Berger were clearly leading the overall standings when they arrived in the canton of Ticino in October 1974. At the 13th Rally Internazionale di Lugano, the two Opel drivers can secure the European title early. And it’s going well. Right from the start they take “pole position” among the 52 competitors. The tough special stages in the mountains between Lugano and Lake Maggiore take their toll. One team after the other is eliminated – only 18 vehicles cross the finish line on October 13th. As usual, confidently at the top: the Opel Ascona with Walter Röhrl and Jochen Berger. After 1,000 kilometers, the duo crossed the finish line more than ten minutes ahead of the second-place team. With their sixth overall victory and 120 points – the highest number of points ever achieved to date – they won the 1974 European Rally Championship and became European drivers’ champions.
In record time: from young talent to rally ace
Walter Röhrl, born in 1947, had only appeared in the rally circuit two years earlier. After an injury, the ski racer decided to go into motorsport – in his own words, he deliberately chose “rally instead of circuit.” A perfectly right decision, as the future will prove. In any case, in 1972 the Regensburg man made his breakthrough from being a “nobody” (as he once said himself) to being a surprise candidate. At that time, Röhrl played a dominant role in the Poland Rally, the Baltic Rally and the Olympic Rally. From 1973 onwards, the then 26-year-old drove for Opel. At his side sits Jochen Berger, who from now on reads him the so-called “prayer book”, the route instructions for the driver, and is thus expected to play a significant role in the coming successes.
“Jochen was the best Co. of his time,” says Walter Röhrl. Together the two became vice-European champions (1973), European champions (1974) and won their first victory in a World Cup race in 1975. Berger died in July 2010.
After their sixth overall victory, the duo won the rallying crown on October 13, 1974 – with the maximum number of points of 120. The regulations make this possible because six races are counted.
“Driving through a special stage with Walter is safer than crossing the street in the city.”
– Co-pilot Jochen Berger –
Even back then, the co-driver was sure of Röhrl’s driving qualities: “Driving through a special test with Walter is safer than crossing the street in the city.” He turned out to be right: in the same year, the two of them were only few starts and almost the same number of overall victories in an Opel Ascona Vice European Champion – not a respectable success, but an announcement! For Röhrl, these are the best conditions for the coming season with the recently founded Opel Euro dealer team.
And so in 1974 Walter Röhrl and Jochen Berger set out to hunt for points with great ambitions. Your factory Ascona A has an engine that has been bored out to two liters with an overhead camshaft and cross-flow cylinder head. This means that the Group 2 car produces between 141 kW (192 hp) and 156 kW (212 hp). Special springs and special shock absorbers as well as internally ventilated disc brakes at the front and ventilated drum brakes at the rear adapt the chassis of the rally car based on the production model to the tough competition conditions. In his biography “Aufschrift” Röhrl remembers: “The engine was easy to drive. Power came from around 2,000 and continued until 7,600. But I refrained from turning it up so high. My moral limit was 7,000. Mostly.”
Opel and rallying – that is a connection with history. Opel, ADAC and everyone involved are also currently showing how modern, sustainable rallying works today. With the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup “powered by GSe”, the partners have launched the world’s first fully electric one-make rally cup. Luca Pröglhöf has just secured this year’s title and thrilled the fans in exciting competitions.
However, Röhrl/Berger have to be patient until their first big success of the season. At the 8th International Firestone Rally – the 5th round of the European Rally Championship at the end of March 1974 – the time had finally come. As the top team in the Opel Euro dealer team, the two achieved a superior start/finish victory after 1,517 kilometers and 19 special stages in the northern Spanish mountains. From then on, things happened in quick succession: just four weeks later, Röhrl/Berger took the lead right from the start at the Tulip Rally in the Netherlands. After 1,250 kilometers and 38 special tests, they achieved their next confident overall victory in their Ascona. The local authorities cause a moment of shock: They suspect Röhrl of significantly exceeding the permitted speed limit. Fortunately, this turns out to be a mistake. The law enforcement officers did not “flash” the German duo with starting number 1, but rather the Polish team with number 7.
Further victories follow with the Hesse Rally, the Moldau Rally and the Danube Rally in Romania. At the 13th Rallye Internazionale di Lugano in Switzerland, the duo took advantage of their first chance and won the 1974 European Rally Championship in a dominant manner. Walter Röhrl and Jochen Berger became European driver champions – although there were still three races remaining. But after this success, Walter Röhrl has even greater ambitions. He writes: “With the European title I had achieved what I wanted. But one dream kept me going: winning the Monte Carlo Rally once in my life.”
The reliable one: No other car was as sophisticated and solid in the 1974 rally season as the Ascona from the Opel Eurodealer team.
The foundation stone was laid: At the fifth round of the 1974 European Rally Championship in the mountains of northern Spain, the Opel duo took their first victory of the season.
Start of another rally career
In 1975, Röhrl achieved the first victory in a World Rally Championship race for himself and Opel. But in 1977 the exceptional driver and the brand with the lightning went their separate ways. At this point in time, no one had any idea that the greatest shared sporting triumph was yet to come. In 1982 Röhrl returned to Opel. While Jochen Berger is now team manager of the motorsport department, his new co-driver Christian Geistdörfer also makes a decisive contribution to the success of the “Mission Monte Carlo” – and the 191 kW (260 hp) Ascona 400. With him, Röhrl wins the legendary race for the second time Monte Carlo Rally – and for the first time on an Opel. A tailor-made start to the rally season, which ultimately culminated in a spectacular victory in the 1982 Drivers’ World Championship.
October 2024
Photos: Opel archive