Porsche 917 - The Film

Thirty years after the end of Group B rallying, film-maker Helmut Deimel has launched his latest film on rallying’s wildest era. For “Riding Balls of Fire”, the Austrian legend behind the hugely popular “Evolution of Rallying” has gathered together the finest archive footage of the 500 bhp Group B supercars in their prime. Watching this film really shows the extreme pace of evolution of the cars and the sport in the three short years from 1983 to 1986.

50 Years of Rallying Five decades of rallying, from the early endurance and regularity tests of well-to-do but slightly bored aristocrats in the mid-fifties, via the first sprints on cordoned-off Scandinavian gravel roads with stars like Tom Trana or Erik Carlsson, to monstrous long distance races and today’s high-tech events in the dust. This movie tells it all over 90 gripping minutes, compiled largely from the archives of Austria’s legendary rally filmmaker, Helmut Deimel. The milestones of this spectacular journey through time are the groundbreaking cars, the great personalities, magnificent places, and the most wonderful moments of the sport. Using special features, Deimel spotlights the dynamism, the magic, the uniqueness of rallying. Interviews with the most important drivers and team bosses add colour and authenticity to the story – from enthusiasts’ intrepid adventures to the merciless sprints of today’s professionals. The movie was conceived and directed by Helmut Deimel.

A journey through the rally career of a double World Champion. This is not a film for pet lovers, but for the fans of one of the most successful rally drivers ever, Walter Röhrl, who still fascinates rally lovers more than 25 years after his first world title. Today his cat "Lisa", his wife Monika, and the world of Porsche are his main preoccupations, but once his life was centered on the special stages of the world. This film looks back on the career of the double World Champion, stretching from his incredible performance at the 1972 Olympia Rally, to his last WRC-rally in 1987.

The movie presents the fabulous history of rallying in several chapters. It’s a most entertaining, relaxed and emotional journey through history. The story takes off with Renault Alpine clinching the first Makes World Championship in 1973 and takes us through to the nine-time World Champion Sebastien Loeb and his successor, Sebastien Ogier.