A petrol-scented journey through time awaits visitors to the Technik Museum Speyer at the premiere of “Walter & Michèle”. The film is about the legendary battle between the Walter Röhrl from Germany and Michèle Mouton from France at the 1982 World Rally Championship. Together with rally icon Walter Röhrl himself, filmmaker Helmut Deimel and photographer Reinhard Klein, who were there at the time, they give a unique insight into the rally world in the 1980s. Following the film premiere, protagonist Walter Röhrl will give an autograph session. The screening and discussion will take place from 2 pm to 4 pm on 18 March 2023 in the FORUM cinema of the Technik Museum Speyer. The autograph session will begin afterwards. The price of admission to the museum incl. the film screening will be 32 € for adults and 29 € reduced. Special conditions are available for members. Tickets are available online in advance. Subject to change.

The 1982 World Rally Championship

In the early 1980s, a duel between Walter Röhrl and Michèle Mouton took place at various levels. It was a duel of the sexes, a duel of the generations and a duel of the technical requirements. The young Frenchwoman was one of the first to drive an all-wheel drive Audi, while Walter Röhrl, then 35 years old, drove his rear-wheel drive Opel. The spectacle lasted for the entire year and took them all round the world. It wasn’t only die-hard rally fans who followed the making of motorsport history. The film “Walter & Michèle” tells the story of the most exciting World Rally Championship of all time using original footage and celebrates its premiere at the Technik Museum Speyer on 18 March 2023.

Helmut Deimel and Reinhard Klein

Filmmaker Helmut Deimel doesn’t resist travelling specially from Vienna and offering visitors unprecedented insights. Deimel and rally photographer Reinhard Klein (Mc Klein) will be available for a Q&A session during the presentation. As a cameraman and a photographer, they can inevitably call on numerous anecdotes and behind-the-scenes experiences from decades of rallying history. Klein has been working as a rally photographer since 1977 and is known in the scene through his agency McKlein. Helmut Deimel from Austria has been following rallies behind the camera for decades.

An initiative of the Slowly Sideways Group

The interaction between renowned motorsport journalists attending the premiere of “Walter & Michèle” at the Technik Museum Speyer is a reflection of the museum’s large circle of friends. The Slowly Sideways Group is an international association of car enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the history of rallying. The history of rally cars and the attention to detail always play a major role in this. Reinhard Klein can be described as the “father” of the group. The premiere will be hosted by Ralf Antweiler, who is also a member of “Slowly Sideways” and has already actively contributed to the success of the opening of the Walter Röhrl special exhibition and has also lent the museum one of Röhrl’s original vehicles. The Walter Röhrl special exhibition will run at the Technik Museum Speyer until 16 April 2023.