2000 Subscriber Special | Group 5 in Germany 1977 - Footage Supercut

The first year of Group 5 rose far above the level of the World Championship – though not every race had a satisfactory entry.
Rolf Stommelen became a worthy successor to Heyer; he claimed the championship in style. Wollek was competitive, but tried to decide some races too early. Schurti and his team were luckless. The surprise Schnitzer-Toyota had a difficult start, but the last race was promising.

Most of the fireworks were in the small division. Heyer and Hahne's cars were too heavy until mid-season; instead, the BMW Juniors stole the show. Cheever was often too aggressive, Surer a bit inexperienced – but newcomer Winkelhock learned fast and became the unofficial Division 2 champion. Grohs disappointed; his style was too wild, like Hezemans, who underestimated driving and developing his own Escort himself. Team boss Grab underestimated the budget required and pulled out after the season. Schnitzer had the fastest car (apart from the baby Porsche, which appeared only twice) but was handicapped by unreliability, although Ludwig showed how a car like that should be driven in the last race.

Finally, Jörg Obermoser, always a contender from the very start of the DRM, had a terrible season; his car performed better in the hands of guest drivers than in those of the old master, it seemed.

Frank De Jong
March 4th 1959 - March 10th 2018