Hubert Auriol is no more. He is one of the legends of the Dakar who has left us, a figure of the event which then took off in Paris, and an adventurer at heart, a fan of this discipline which he experienced intensely as a pilot as well as an organizer. . A whole era that today we would assess as politically incorrect. At 68, he lost a tough duel against what we modestly call a long illness. Hubert Auriol never lacked courage.
Hubert auriol entered the history of Dakar Rally as being the first driver to have conquered the classic on a motorcycle, twice, then in a car, an experience which brings his successes in this rally to three. It was then still played in Africa, an epic of which he also took the reins as organizer and a continent that he loved all the more since he was born in Ethiopia. Thus, his nickname African was not overused. In 2006, he took charge of the organization of the first “ Rally of Legends » linking Paris again to Dakar Rally, then, two years later,Africa Race.
He also directed the China Grand Rally from 2013 to 2016, thus showing a little more his taste for adventure which he even declined as the first presenter of the TV show Koh Lanta. Five-time World Cup winner rally-raid, he is also the record holder for the world tour on a propeller plane in 1987. The same year in which he entered the legend by finishing a stage of the Dakar Rally, on his motorbike, with both broken ankles… Like the hearts of many enthusiasts today.
