German Rally Championship (DRM, Group B era)

The Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft (DRM) was fought between Audi and Opel at home, until Peugeot’s German importer arrived with the 205 Turbo 16 and won the last two Group B titles — the second with Michèle Mouton.

2
titles for Audi
1
for Opel
2
for Peugeot
1986
Mouton’s German title

Champions

Year Driver Co-driver Car
1982 Harald Demuth Arwed Fischer Audi Quattro
1983 Erwin Weber Gunter Wanger Opel Manta 400
1984 Harald Demuth Willy Lux Audi Quattro
1985 Kalle Grundel Peter Diekmann Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
1986 Michèle Mouton Terry Harryman Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

Key events

The German rounds that also counted for the European championship were the ADAC Winter Rallye, the Saarland Rallye, the Hessen Rallye and the Hunsrück Rallye, joined in 1986 by the ADAC Rallye Deutschland. The Hunsrück Rallye (and in 1984 the Hessen Rallye) also counted for the Dutch championship.

Audi, Opel and then Peugeot: Demuth, Weber, Grundel and Mouton in the German championship from 1982 to 1986.

Season by season

1982. Harald Demuth and Arwed Fischer won the title in an Audi Quattro, winning the Saarland Rallye. Jochi Kleint and Gunter Wanger, in an Ascona 400 of the Deutsches Opel Team, won the Winter and Hessen rallies. On the Winter Rallye a spectator was killed and a stage was cancelled.

1983. Erwin Weber and Gunter Wanger won the Hessen and Hunsrück rallies in a Manta 400 and took the title for Opel. On the Saarland, Manfred Hero’s Porsche 930 Turbo beat Walter Röhrl and Christian Geistdörfer.

Harald Demuth, German champion with Audi in 1982 and 1984, photographed in 2018.
Harald Demuth, German champion with Audi in 1982 and 1984, photographed in 2018.Photo: Jiří Sedláček via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

1984. Demuth, now partnered by the Belgian Willy Lux, won the Winter, Saarland and Hunsrück rallies in an Audi and regained the title; Weber won the Hessen. Demuth also won ERC rounds in Czechoslovakia and Switzerland that year.

1985. Peugeot Talbot Deutschland entered a 205 Turbo 16 for Kalle Grundel and Peter Diekmann. They won the Winter, Hessen, Hunsrück and Saarland rallies. On the Hunsrück, Demuth’s Audi Sport Europa Quattro and David Llewellin’s Quattro finished second and third behind him.

1986. Michèle Mouton and Terry Harryman took over the German Peugeot and won the Hessen Rallye and the ADAC Rallye Deutschland to take the title. On the Hessen Rallye Marc Surer, in a Ford RS200, was fighting Mouton for the lead when he crashed; his co-driver Michel Wyder was killed. Gustel Brusch won the Winter Rallye and Marc Duez the Hunsrück, and Per Eklund was runner-up on the Rallye Deutschland.

Erwin Weber, German champion in 1983 in an Opel Manta 400, on the 1985 RAC Rally.
Erwin Weber, German champion in 1983 in an Opel Manta 400, on the 1985 RAC Rally.Photo: Joevertigo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Champions follow the English and German Wikipedia lists, which agree. Event results are from the European championship rounds held in Germany (eWRC-results.com); full DRM calendars and points were not available to us, and the cars of some winners (Brusch, Duez) are not given.

In pictures 2 photos

A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.
A 205 T16 in its original 1984 specification, roughly 200 kg lighter than the Audi Quattro.Photo: Kieran White from Manchester, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Michèle Mouton's 1983 Audi Quattro rally car in the Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin (2015)
Michèle Mouton's 1983 Audi Quattro rally car in the Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin (2015)Photo: © 1971markus via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

More from Championships

Italian Rally Championship (CIR, Group B era)Jolly Club, Grifone and the private Lancias: the Italian championship from Tognana’s Ferrari to Cerrato’s Delta S4.Read more →Belgian Rally Championship (Group B era)Spa, Ypres and the Condroz: Duez, Snijers and Droogmans in the Belgian championship from Porsche to Ford RS200.Read more →Spanish Rally Championship (Group B era)Zanini, Ortiz and Servià — and the young Carlos Sainz — in the Spanish championship from 1982 to 1986.Read more →French Rally Championship (Group B era)Renault against Opel on French asphalt: Thérier, Fréquelin, Ragnotti and Auriol, and the 119-point tie of 1986.Read more →British Rally Championship (Group B era)McRae, Blomqvist, Brookes and Lovell: the British Open Rally Championship from 1982 to 1986, with results, cars and the 1984 title fight.Read more →European Rally Championship (Group B era)Fifty rallies a season, points coefficients and four straight Lancia titles: the ERC from 1982 to 1986, season by season.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (DE), Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Rallye-Meisterschaft
  2. Wikipedia (EN), Deutsche Rallye Meisterschaft — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Rallye_Meisterschaft
  3. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1982 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1982/6-erc/
  4. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1983 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1983/6-erc/
  5. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1984 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1984/6-erc/
  6. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1985 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1985/6-erc/
  7. eWRC-results.com, FIA European Rally Championship 1986 (event results) — https://www.ewrc-results.com/season/1986/6-erc/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Mr.choppers (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0); Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); estoril (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Brian Snelson (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); estoril (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).