PARIS — Hubert Auriol, the primary competitor to win the Dakar Rally on a motorcycle and in a automotive, has died. He was 68.
The Dakar Rally introduced that Auriol died on Sunday. It didn’t specify a trigger however the Frenchman had battled coronary heart illness for a few years.
The charismatic Auriol gained the race, which was then known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, on a motorcycle in 1981 and ’83 after which in a automotive in 1992.
Auriol later turned director of the race, a place he held for almost a decade. Lately, he had labored as a Paris-based auto racing marketing consultant.
“He impressed generations of riders and drivers and has been an integral a part of the rally all through its historical past,” the Dakar Rally mentioned in an announcement.