Sven Behling's Fatal Crash @ Deutschland-Rallye 1997 (Aftermath)
- 5 months ago
Sven Behling and Armin Kremer were close friends and started their racing career together at the end of the 1980s. Their first rally-car was a small Trabant 601, Armin was the driver with Sven as co-driver. Armin Kremer-Sven Behling won the ADAC-Junior Rallye Cup 1991 and 1992.
In 1994 they had their debut in the German Rallye Championship driving a Ford Escort Group N, and finally in 1996 they won the title in a works Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III Group N.
The following season Kremer-Behling had their first issue in the World Rally Championship, in the Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 1997. Driving their old Mitsubishi Group N they finished 2nd in class, 10th place overall.
But they wanted to improve driving a Group A, and by Mitsubishi such a vehicle was not available for the German series, so they were signed upby Subaru Germany, to drive a Group A Impreza in the 1997 German Rallye Championship. The prelude was soon a win, in the Czech Republic's 1997 Mogul Rallye Šumava Klatovy.
On 04 July 1997, during the 9th special stage of the 16th ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the Subaru Impreza driven by Armin Kremer went off the road, hit a tree and burst into flames. Kremer got down from the burning car unhurt, while Sven Behling being trapped into the burning wreckage. He was killed at the scene.
The event was not stopped and Dieter Depping-Dieter Hawranke eventually won the rally in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, from Matthias Kahle-Dieter Schneppenheim in a Toyota Celica and Krzysztof Hołowczyc-Maciej Wisławski in a Subaru Impreza.
After the tragedy Armin Kremer wanted to stop immediately his racing activity and was just the family of Behling to persuade him to go on. He won two other times the National title in 1998 and 1999 with co-driver Fred Berßen, and became the European Rally Champion in 2001 in a Toyota Corolla WRC, winning the 2003 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII.
R.I.P
In 1994 they had their debut in the German Rallye Championship driving a Ford Escort Group N, and finally in 1996 they won the title in a works Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III Group N.
The following season Kremer-Behling had their first issue in the World Rally Championship, in the Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 1997. Driving their old Mitsubishi Group N they finished 2nd in class, 10th place overall.
But they wanted to improve driving a Group A, and by Mitsubishi such a vehicle was not available for the German series, so they were signed upby Subaru Germany, to drive a Group A Impreza in the 1997 German Rallye Championship. The prelude was soon a win, in the Czech Republic's 1997 Mogul Rallye Šumava Klatovy.
On 04 July 1997, during the 9th special stage of the 16th ADAC Rallye Deutschland, the Subaru Impreza driven by Armin Kremer went off the road, hit a tree and burst into flames. Kremer got down from the burning car unhurt, while Sven Behling being trapped into the burning wreckage. He was killed at the scene.
The event was not stopped and Dieter Depping-Dieter Hawranke eventually won the rally in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, from Matthias Kahle-Dieter Schneppenheim in a Toyota Celica and Krzysztof Hołowczyc-Maciej Wisławski in a Subaru Impreza.
After the tragedy Armin Kremer wanted to stop immediately his racing activity and was just the family of Behling to persuade him to go on. He won two other times the National title in 1998 and 1999 with co-driver Fred Berßen, and became the European Rally Champion in 2001 in a Toyota Corolla WRC, winning the 2003 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII.
R.I.P