Motorsport career
Walter Lechner Jr.'s career began at the age of eleven: in 1992, he entered the Austrian Karting Championship. In 1994, he was national karting junior champion, followed by a switch to the domestic Formula Ford in 1997, where Walter won his first Formula title. In 1998, Walter not only won the German Formula Ford championship title, but also achieved a sensational fifth place overall at the international Formula Ford World Final in Brands Hatch. In 2000, Walter switched to the Formula Renault European Championship. His debut went according to plan with a second place in Nogaro. As “Rookie of the Year 2001”, he celebrated overall victory in the German Formula Volkswagen series.
In 2002, the 21-year-old was crowned the then youngest class winner in the LMP2 class at the 24-hour race at Le Mans! The fact that a Formula 1 cockpit was simply not affordable at the time prompted Walter to compete in the international Porsche Supercup and the FIA GT Championship in 2003. Walter's rise did not go unnoticed internationally: at the age of just 22, the renowned British trade magazine “Autosport” voted Walter one of the top 3 GT drivers in Europe.
From 2005 to 2007, a serious illness forced Walter to interrupt his career. After overcoming his illness, it was clear that other things should play a role in Walter's life alongside motorsport.