Motorsport: Rohrl and classic 911 head to Targa Tassie

Christian Deistdoerfer (L) and Walter Rohrl with the legendary 911 SC they ran in the 1981 San Remo Rally. Photo / Supplied

Porsche racing great Walter Rohrl is heading down under in a classic 911 to contest the tough Targa Tasmania.

The two-time world rally champion will be reunited with co-driver Christian Deistdoerfer in the Porsche 911 SC they drove in the 1981 San Remo Rally.

The pair's performance is considered by many rally aficionados to be one of the greatest drives in the history of the World Rally Championship.

The rear-drive 911 shouldn't have been competitive against some of the fire-breathing four-wheel-drive factory hardware in the event.

Against the odds, the duo came close to an upset victory over Michele Mouton - who was driving an impressive Audi Quattro works car - before snapping a driveshaft and being forced to retire.

"That rally is one of the most memorable for me, for sure," Rhorl says.

"We were not supposed to be competitive in the San Remo because the stages were very difficult and the all-wheel drive Audi had much better grip and more power than our (Porsche) 911 SC.

"But we pushed and pushed and pushed ... and finally something broke on the car on the final tarmac stages when I thought we were going to win the rally.

"We only entered that 911 SC in one rally, the San Remo. It was a last-minute thing. Some engineers at Porsche helped prepare this car for me because I was without a drive," recalls Rohrl.

"Then, more than 25 years later, Porsche informs me this fabulous car has been found in somebody's garage. It has been restored and now we will bring it to Targa (Tasmania) in what will be a very special reunion. I am so looking forward to it."

Rohrl, 65, has been to the Tasmanian event twice before, first in 1997 and again in 2000. It is the 20th anniversary running of the tarmac rally.

The 911 SC is one of three Porsches from the company's 'museum on wheels' participating in Targa's classic section. The others are the famous 908/02 Spyder (1969 Targa Florio winner) to be driven by museum on wheels curator Klaus Bischof, and the 718 RS 60 Spyder (1960 Targa Florio winner) to be driven by Bernd Ostmann, editor-in-chief of Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine.

Legend Jim Richards, on the other hand, will be running a brand-spanking 911 GT2 RS.

"I guess for us it's a bit like Walter (Rohrl) in that San Remo Rally," smiles Richards.

"We've got an exceptionally good rear-drive car that is pretty close to being a standard road car and we'll be up against some highly-tuned all-wheel drive cars built to go rallying."

- NZ HERALD STAFF