Hubert Auriol (7 June 1952 – 10 January 2021) was a French professional off-road motorcyclist and auto racer competing in rally raid events. After retiring as a competitor, he served as the director of The Paris-Dakar rally. Auriol is notable for being the first competitor to win the Dakar rally on motorcycles and in automobiles. In 2012, Auriol was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.
Auriol was born in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and began competing in motocross and enduro events 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 a BMW R80G/S entered 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 journalist Jean-Michel Caradec'h, "Paris Dakar. Une histoire d'hommes" about this story. Auriol then s...
