Red Bull.com

Hermann Gassner Jr is one of the rising stars of rally and signalled his arrival on the international scene with victory in the German Rally Championship in 2009.

Hermann was born in 1988 in Bad Reichenhall and has been rallying since he was 14. He started out as a co-driver but when he turned 18, Hermann moved into the driving seat just like his heroes Walter Röhrl and Sebastien Loeb. A qualified mechatronics system engineer, he's been known to double as a rally mechanic, so you can be sure he knows his car inside and out.

Hermann joined Red Bull in 2010 and is currently racing a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 prepared by former Austrian champion Raimond Baumschlager's BRR team in the WRC. He finished a respectable fifth in 2011's S2000 World Rally Championship. Before that Hermann won the Suzuki Rally Cup in 2007, the Mitropa Cup in 2009 and became the youngest ever Germany Rally Champion in 2009.

Hermann pumps himself up ahead of rallies by listening to in-yer-face hip hop and metal, which rather belies this young driver's fear of heights and "dangerous animals". And like most modern (and world-class) drivers, he's an exponent of total fitness and uses his winter downtime to go snowboarding. When travelling from rally to rally, though, Hermann has been known to rock up at the poker table and admits that he spends far too much time and money on hi-tech gadgets.

With regular co-driver Klaus Wicha at his side, Hermann is determined to make headlines.

You can keep up with Hermann on his Facebook page.