Hubert Auriol: “What Peterhansel does always impresses me”

The Dakar is indeed an event thatHubert auriol knows it “by heart” having won it twice on motorbikes in the 80s, before switching to four wheels and winning in 1992 with Mitsubishi.

Then moving to the organization side, Hubert Auriol left ASO in 2004 after notably instigating regulatory changes in the 90s to limit the striking power of the major manufacturers against private crews.

While his autobiography is due to appear at the end of January, the Frenchman remains an attentive spectator of the legendary rally-raid which will start tomorrow in Peru. “I don’t miss a single television broadcast, Hubert Auriol confided to us in our last Carpooling.

Je regrette un peu qu’à part Toyota, seul constructeur à viser le marché des 4×4, ce soit devenu une course de préparateurs et de sponsors. La guerre des cigarettiers a été remplacée par celle des boissons énergisantes.

And car budgets are in full inflation. It is only on motorcycles that costs remain more or less affordable, thanks to the “customer competition” machines available to everyone. »

Auriol also confesses to having a very particular admiration for a driver, who over the years became a record holder for victories, all categories combined, on the Dakar, and who, like him, made the transition from two to four wheels.

“Stéphane Peterhansel and Nani Roma have joined me in the very select club of motorcycle and car winners of the Dakar. So I have a little more affection for them. What Peterhansel does, facing the sacred monsters of rallying, Loeb et Sainz, always impresses me, as well as his motivation which never weakens. »

Discover our Carpooling in its full version, as well as our Dakar 2019 Guide, in AUTO issue 2197hebdo, always available in digital version and on newsstands.