Didier Auriol
Didier Auriol | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 18, 1958 Montpellier, France |
| Occupation | Rally driver |
| Years active | 1980s–2005 |
| Known for | First Frenchman to win the World Rally Championship (1994) |
Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a retired French rally driver hailing from Montpellier. Before entering the rally scene, he worked as an ambulance driver. Throughout the 1990s, he competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC), becoming the first Frenchman to claim the World Rally Championship title in 1994. During his career, Auriol drove for several manufacturer teams such as Lancia, Toyota, Peugeot, and Škoda, before parting ways with Škoda in 2003. His family was also involved in rallying: his sister Nadine served as a co-driver, and his brother Gerrard was likewise a competitor.
Career
Auriol started his rallying journey at age 21, initially driving a Simca 1000 and later advancing to a Renault 5 Turbo within the French Rally Championship. He achieved his first national rally title in 1986 behind the wheel of a Metro 6R4. He successfully defended this championship in both 1987 and 1988 while piloting a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.
His maiden WRC win occurred at the 1988 Tour de Corse while driving for Ford, where he outpaced the dominant Lancia team that year. This success led to a four-year contract with Lancia. Competing with various iterations of the Lancia Delta Integrale, Auriol secured six victories in 1992—a record that stood until Sébastien Loeb surpassed it in 2005—but inconsistent results ultimately cost him the championship to Carlos Sainz.
In 1993, Auriol switched to Toyota and triumphed at the Monte Carlo Rally. The following year, he achieved three wins and captured the World Championship after Sainz crashed during the final event. In 1995, he won the Tour de Corse driving a Celica GT-Four ST205; however, Toyota was subsequently disqualified from that season for illegal turbocharger modifications and banned from competition in 1996.
During 1996, Auriol participated sporadically with Subaru and Mitsubishi teams before competing privately with Ford and Toyota Corolla WRC cars in 1997. He returned full-time to Toyota for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, earning several podium finishes and placing fifth and third overall respectively.
Following Toyota's withdrawal from WRC after 1999, Auriol joined SEAT Sport to drive their Córdoba WRC E2. His expertise contributed to SEAT securing a podium finish at the Safari Rally before the manufacturer exited rallying to concentrate on high-performance road vehicles.
In 2001, Auriol raced for Peugeot Sport with moderate results—his only victory that year came at Rally Catalunya—and added three third-place finishes to his record. After a quieter campaign in 2002, he signed with Škoda Motorsport for 2003, where he played an important role in developing their Fabia WRC.
Auriol shares the record for most Tour de Corse wins—six in total—with Bernard Darniche.
WRC victories
WRC results
| Year | Team | Vehicle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Championship Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Didier Auriol | Renault 5 Turbo | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA Ret |
GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN | ITA | CIV | GBR | – | 0 | ||||
| 1985 | Didier Auriol | Renault 5 Maxi Turbo | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA Ret |
GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN | ITA | CIV | GBR | – | 0 | ||||
| 1986 | Austin Rover World Championship Team | MG Metro 6R4 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA Ret |
GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR | USA | – | 0 | |||
| Year | Team | Vehicle | Key Results | Championship Standing | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martini Racing Lancia | Lancia Delta Integrale 16v | MON:1, POR:2, FRA:1, ARG:3, ITA:1, GBR:5 (other retirements) | 2nd | 95 | |
| Jolly Club | Lancia Delta Integrale 16v | SWE:9, POR:2, FRA:2, NZL:3, ARG:3, FIN:2, ITA:1 (other retirements) | 3rd | 101 | |
| Martini Racing Lancia | Lancia Delta HF Integrale | MON:1, FRA:1, GRC:1, ARG:1, FIN:1, AUS:1 (POR retirement) | 3rd | 121 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | MON:1, FRA:2, ARG:3, NZL:3, FIN:3, ESP:2 (other retirements) | 3rd | 92 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD | POR:2, KEN:3, FRA:1, ARG:1, FIN:2, ITA:1 (other retirements) | 1st | 116 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 | FRA:1, NZL:2 (retirements in MON and AUS; disqualified in ESP) | DSQ | 51 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Corolla WRC | FIN:8, AUS:3 (other retirements or lower results) | 11th | 6 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Corolla WRC | ESP:1, GRC:2, NZL:2 (retirements in POR, ARG, ITA, GBR) | 5th | 34 | |
| Toyota Castrol Team | Toyota Corolla WRC | CHN:1, MON:3, KEN:2 (retirements in GRC, FIN, AUS, GBR) | 3rd | 52 | |
| SEAT Sport | SEAT Córdoba WRC Evo2/ Evo3 | KEN:3 (retirements in MON, ARG,GRC,NZL,CYP), mid-field finishes in SWE/ POR/ FRA/ AUS/ GBR | 12th | 4 | |
| Peugeot Total | Peugeot 206 WRC | ESP:1; NZL:6; podiums in ITA/FRA/AUS/GBR; several early-season retirements | 7th | 23 |
External links
- rallybase.nl – Profile of Didier Auriol
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1958 births
- Lancia personnel
- Athletes from Montpellier
- World Rally Champions
- World Rally Championship competitors
- French rally competitors
- Living individuals
- Peugeot Sport team members
- Toyota Gazoo Racing team members
- Cupra Racing team members
- Škoda Motorsport team members
- Peugeot Sport drivers