1982 World Rally Championship videos: Walter Rohrl becomes first person to win the title twice

Walter Rohrl became the first person, in 1982, to win the World Rally Championship for a second time.

Driving the Rothmans Opel Ascona 400 Rohrl found himself embroiled in a bitter battle with Audi quattro queen Michele Mouton which the media hyped up to the max.

Mouton drove the season of her life that year (her performance under extremely trying circumstances on the Ivory Coast particularly stands out, even though she eventually retired and lost the championship there) by winning three rounds and just  narrowly missing out on the title. With the title won in Africa Rohrl decided to skip the RAC, an event he disliked intensely, and head directly to Turin to join Lancia for 1983. 

1982 would also see the introduction of the Group B Lancia Rally 037, though its WRC debut on the Tour de Corse was marred by an horrific accident involving Attilio Bettega, where he broke both his legs after crashing into a wall.

World Rally Championship 1982 videos (the third vid features footage from the European Rally Championship Costa Smeralda where the Lancia 037 made its competitive debut with Alen and Bettega)

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