Sakaka (Saudi Arabia) (AFP)
A minute of applause before the briefing the next day: the paddock of the Dakar 2021 learned with emotion of the death Sunday of Hubert Auriol "the African" and paid tribute to the former director of the event and historical figure of the most famous rally-raids.
In the middle of the afternoon, as the light began to fade, the competitors arrived by rosary in Sakaka in northern Saudi Arabia, to drop off their vehicles in the closed park which also serves as a garage on occasion. of the 7th and 8th stages which follow one another.
While the pilots and co-pilots worked on their machines behind barriers, those who knew Hubert Auriol took the time to evoke his memory.
"If I am here, on this rally, it is thanks to what I saw, to what Hubert was doing in the great era with Cyril Neveu", says Stéphane Peterhansel, 13 times winner of the Dakar (six times on a motorcycle , seven by car).
"For me it has always been a model of class and intelligence. We remember that he had this journey on a motorbike, then that he stopped the two-wheeler, on this injury, the fractures of both ankles, to go by car and finally win, "he adds.
Peterhansel is one of the few to have won in both categories, just like Hubert Auriol, the first to have succeeded in overtaking motorcycle and car victoriously (motorcycle in 1981 and 1983, car in 1992) .
“He was a great man, always smiling, even in the toughest moments, he kept his morale up, he was strong, it's really sad for the rally raid world, it's sad for the Dakar. think of course of those close to him ", continues the man who is nicknamed" Mr. Dakar "because of his record.
- The heritage of motorcycle trunks -
In the 2021 paddock, not very many have known him.
Among them, Cyril Despres, five times winner in motorcycles, who has teamed up since last year with Mike Horn, the South African adventurer, on four wheels: "He made us dream. I had my first official handlebars. at BMW and the first time I arrived in Munich, at BMW, there were Hubert's motorcycles. It marked me ".
The one who rides this year for a hydrogen vehicle project continues to evoke "this great man": "Of course I would like to do like him. But to put my name on the motorcycle list was already unexpected, so add it it would be a dream for cars. But not everyone is Hubert Auriol or Stéphane Peterhansel. We just have the French flag on our suits or our cars and we are former bikers, but the comparison ends there ".
David Castera, current boss of this Dakar that Auriol led for nine years (1995-2004), recalls "a man who showed him the way and inspired him".
He had come to see the new formula put in place by the Béarnais, a former biker like him, in Saudi Arabia in 2020.
"Last year, it was a bit of a handover, he had come a whole day in the chopper with me. It's true that it's a shock," says Castera, moved.
At ASO, the organizers of the modern Dakar, we readily recognize it: Hubert Auriol's imprint is indelible.
"It was he who created the motorcycle trunks. This category of bikers who ride without assistance, with only the contents of a trunk for their personal belongings and spare parts for their motorcycle. He has always retained a special affection for motorcycle enthusiasts ", explains Yann Le Moenner, the general manager.
The category is now called "originals" but it still exists.
"It's a brother who is leaving," summed up the Spaniard Nani Roma, the only other rider in history (with Peterhansel and Auriol, therefore) to have won the Dakar in cars and motorcycles.
© 2021 AFP