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 switched to the automobile class in 1988, first racing a
factory-backed Mitsubishi Pajero Proto T3, but after losing the event to
Ari Vatanen in 1990, switched to the
Citroën team, winning in 1992 with a
ZX Rallye Raid, co-driven by
Philippe Monnet. In 1994, Auriol joined Dakar organizer
ASO and became race director of the event he won three times, starting in the 1995 edition. He headed the event until the 2004 edition, when he was replaced by
Patrick Zaniroli. In 2008 he founded the
Africa Eco Race. Hubert Auriol lived in
Suresnes with his wife and three children. He was not related to former World Rally Champion
Didier Auriol. ==Death==