In Quarantine with AUTOhebdo – Focus on the career of Didier Auriol

De ses tous premiers rallyes régionaux à la Toyota Celica officielle, près de quinze ans se sont écoulés avant que Didier Auriol fails to achieve his dream: to become world rally champion.

Born in Montpellier, but very quickly attached to Millau, the one who works as an ambulance driver will have spent several seasons with the Renault 5 Turbo Group B, the Metro 6R4 Group B and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Group A, winning three titles in France, before being entrusted with a factory wheel by the Lancia Martini Racing team.

Already crowned with a victory in the 1988 Tour de Corse with the Ford Sierra, the Frenchman came to battle in 1989 with the spearhead of the Italian brand Massimo Biasion. After another Corsican victory, it is Rally Monte-Carlo 1990 that Auriol reaches a new milestone, winning his duel with the Spaniard Carlos Sainz, for what would become a regular '90s clash.

But we would have to wait until the Toyota period from 1993, after a world title seen very closely in 1992, to see Auriol finally be crowned in 1994, once again against Carlos Sainz.

Rediscover the superb career of the Frenchman from his beginnings to the title won at the RAC 1994, in this video.