Hubert Auriol

For other uses, seeAuriol (disambiguation).

Hubert Auriol(French:[ybɛʁoʁjɔl];7 June 1952 – 10 January 2021) was aFrenchprofessionaloff-roadmotorcyclist and auto racer competing inrally raidevents. After retiring as a competitor, he served as the director ofThe Paris-Dakarrally. Auriol is notable for being the first competitor to win the Dakar rally on motorcycles and in automobiles.In 2012, Auriol was named anFIMLegend for his motorcycling achievements.

Career

Auriol was born inAddis Abeba,Ethiopia,and began competing inmotocrossandenduroevents in 1973. From 1979 to 1994, he took part in The Paris-Dakar rally, taking part in the first nine events on a motorcycle and the remaining seven in a car. On motorcycles, he won the event in 1981 and 1983 on aBMW R80G/Sentered by BMW France, finishing in second in 1984. He broke both ankles on the penultimate day of the 1987 edition, while he was in the lead. He wrote a book with the French journalistJean-Michel Caradec'h,"Paris Dakar. Une histoire d'hommes" about this story. Auriol then switched to the automobile class in 1988, first racing afactory-backedMitsubishiPajero Proto T3,but after losing the event toAri Vatanenin 1990, switched to theCitroënteam, winning in 1992 with aZX Rallye Raid,co-driven byPhilippe Monnet.

In 1994, Auriol joined Dakar organizerASOand became race director of the event he won three times, starting in the 1995 edition. He headed the event until the 2004 edition, when he was replaced byPatrick Zaniroli.In 2008 he founded theAfrica Eco Race.

Hubert Auriol lived inSuresneswith his wife and three children. He was not related to former World Rally ChampionDidier Auriol.

Death

Auriol, who had been suffering from cardiovascular disease for a long time, was hospitalized in serious condition after being infected byCOVID-19in Paris in November 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic in France.While undergoing treatment for COVID-19, he died on 10 January 2021, at the age of 68, following a cardiac arrest.