Special feature
WRC
Motorsport Heroes: Michele Mouton's sad end to her WRC career
In Motorsport Heroes, the full-length feature film by Manish Pandey now available on Motorsport.tv, four legends of our sport share their successes, failures, personal struggles and life-threatening accidents. Today we hear from Michele Mouton, who talks about how her WRC career ended amid the tragedy of the 1986 Tour de Corse.
Charles Bradley
Edited: May 23, 2022, 5:31 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Motorsport Heroes
Motorsport 'Heroes' tells the story of five legends of motorsport, whose lives are intimately intertwined and interconnected as they all scale the heights of their sport, while contending with profound personal challenges along the way. Featuring Mika Hakkinen, Tom Kristensen, Michele Mouton and Felipe Massa, the 111-minute feature film written by Manish Pandey allows four of the greatest warriors of the sport to reflect on their lives, bringing out of each other the story of those transformations and their tales of the best and worst of times. It is also the story of the man who connects them, Michael Schumacher, viewed as the greatest winner of them all but whose story, like the others, is filled with the same fallibility and emotion that makes him human. Available in English with subtitles in: Japanese, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Mandarin, German, Italian and Russian.
Mouton, who is the most successful female rally driver in history, was forced to retire from what was to be her final World Rally Championship event in Corsica while running in the top three due to a technical problem with her Peugeot 205 T16. However, a day later, Lancia’s Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresta were killed – which was the beginning of the end for the Group B machinery.
“After the first day, I knew I was at my best,” she says in the film. “I was third overall [behind Toivonen and Bruno Saby]. But I had a problem with the gearshift and had to stop. But, for me, it was the best rally.
“After that, I knew [if I continued in the sport] that I would miss my family life. I was 35. For me it was clear, I said to Fredrik [Johnsson], my partner at that time, I said ‘this is the end for me’.
“I stopped there, and I never regret that, because I had my daughter Jessie the following year. So it was the right time.”
Read Also:
- Motorsport Heroes: Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
- Motorsport Heroes: Massa on his big F1 break with Ferrari
Mouton retired at the end of the year, but not before dominating that year’s German Championship – becoming the first female to win a major rally title, and also at the height of its most challenging era. She went on to found the Race of Champions event with Johnsson to honour Toivonen’s memory.
Pandey, who wrote the multi award-winning Senna movie, the 111-minute film interweaves the narratives of our Motorsport Heroes, telling their stories with both archive and first-hand testimony.
To stream the full movie, subscribe to Motorsport.tv from $4.99/€4.50/£3.99 a month.
You can also watch highlights of the infamous 1986 Tour de Corse on Motorsport.tv.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Solberg in talks with manufacturers to start WRC team
Next article Rally Portugal cancelled outright amid pandemic
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Charles Bradley
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mika Hakkinen on his darkest day in F1
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Dillon: Spotter was “wrong” to shout “wreck him!” before Hamlin clash
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Hamlin: NASCAR stripping Dillon of win would be “warranted”
Latest news
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
19 min
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
3 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
4 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
4 h
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe