Didier Auriol

Didier Auriol (born 18 August 1958) is a French former rally driver. Born in Montpellier and initially an ambulance driver, he competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1990s. He became World Rally Champion in 1994, the first driver from his country to do so. He was a factory candidate for Lancia, Toyota and Peugeot among others, before losing his seat at Škoda at the end of 2003. His sister Nadine was also involved in rallying as a co-driver,[1] while his brother Gerrard was also a former rally driver.[2][3]

Didier Auriol
Auriol driving in 2014
Personal information
NationalityFrench
Born (1958-08-18) 18 August 1958
Montpellier, France
World Rally Championship record
Active years1984–2003, 2005
Co-driverFrance Denis Giraudet
France Bernard Occelli
TeamsAustin Rover, Ford, Lancia, Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi, SEAT, Peugeot, Škoda
Rallies152
Championships1 (1994)
Rally wins20
Podiums53
Stage wins554
Total points747
First rally1984 Tour de Corse
First win1988 Tour de Corse
Last win2001 Rally Catalunya
Last rally2005 Monte Carlo Rally

Career

At the age of 21, Auriol started rallying in an old Simca 1000. He drove the Simca for two years before getting a Renault 5 Turbo to compete in the French Rally Championship. In 1986 he competed in a Metro 6R4. With this car, he won his first French Rallye Championship. He contested it again the following year, the first of the Group A years, in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and with his car he was French Rally Champion 1987 and 1988.

Auriol won his first World Championship event, the 1988 Tour de Corse, whilst driving a works Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. It was the only time that season when Lancia were beaten in a straight fight, and the Lancia team signed him for the following year. He remained with the team for four seasons, driving three successive versions of the then-dominant Lancia Delta Integrale. In 1992, driving the final evolution of the car, he won six events in one season (a record until beaten by Sébastien Loeb in 2005), but poor results on other rounds and retirement on the last event of the season, the RAC Rally, handed the world championship to Carlos Sainz.

Auriol's Toyota Corolla WRC on display.

In 1993 Auriol switched to Toyota, and won his first event for the team, the Monte Carlo Rally. He did not win again that season, but the following year he won the Corsica, Argentina and San Remo rallies and went into the final round, in Great Britain, vying again with Sainz for the championship. Despite a poor showing on the rally he emerged as World Champion after the Spanish driver went off the road on the final day. In 1995, he took the first win for the Celica GT-Four ST205 in Tour de Corse with Denis Giraudet, who replaced his regular co-driver Bernard Occelli who was experiencing a family problem at that time.[4] However, later in the same season, on the Rally Catalunya, Toyota were found to have used an illegal device in the turbocharger to increase the power of the engine, and were excluded from the results of the 1995 championship and banned for next year.

In 1996 Auriol contested only two World Championship events. He drove for Subaru in Sweden and for Mitsubishi in San Remo. 1997 he entered in Monte Carlo with a private Ford, and drove couple of rallies with Toyota's new Corolla WRC.

In 1998 Auriol became a Toyota full-time driver. he earned one win and four podiums, finishing fifth in the overall standings. In 1999 he scored one win and seven wins, which placed him third in points.

As Toyota retired from World Rally Championship after 1999, Auriol moved to SEAT Sport, driving the SEAT Córdoba WRC E2. Using Auriol's experience, SEAT managed to grab the third podium place at the Safari Rally in Kenya, and later that season to launch their third evolution of the Córdoba WRC. However at the end of the season the Spanish manufacturer retired from WRC to focus on the development of a special series of high performance cars.

Auriol landed a drive with Peugeot Sport for the 2001 season, but he had a largely difficult season; only on asphalt-rallies was Auriol able to be quicker than his teammate, Marcus Grönholm. Auriol's only win that year came in Spain, whereas he scored three third places at Sanremo, Corse and Australia. 2002 was a kind of gap year for Auriol, and for 2003, Auriol signed with Škoda Motorsport, and played a notable part in the development work of the Škoda Fabia WRC.

Auriol is a six-time winner of the Tour de Corse, a record jointly held with Bernard Darniche.

WRC victories
Auriol's Toyota Celica GT-Four 1995 Tour de Corse winning car.
Auriol with a Peugeot 206 WRC at the 2001 Rally Finland.
Number Event Season Co-driver Car
1 France 32ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1988 Bernard Occelli Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
2 France 33ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1989 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale
3 Monaco 58ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1990 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
4 France 34ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1990 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
5 Italy 32º Rallye Sanremo – Rallye d'Italia 1990 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
6 Italy 33º Rallye Sanremo – Rallye d'Italia 1991 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
7 Monaco 60ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
8 France 36ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
9 Greece 39th Acropolis Rally 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
10 Argentina 12º Rally Argentina 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
11 Finland 42nd 1000 Lakes Rally 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
12 Australia 5th Telecom Rally Australia 1992 Bernard Occelli Lancia Delta HF Integrale
13 Monaco 61ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo 1993 Bernard Occelli Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
14 France 38ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1994 Bernard Occelli Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
15 Argentina 14º Rally Argentina 1994 Bernard Occelli Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
16 Italy 36º Rallye Sanremo – Rallye d'Italia 1994 Bernard Occelli Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
17 France 39ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France 1995 Denis Giraudet Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205
18 Spain 34º Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España) 1998 Denis Giraudet Toyota Corolla WRC
19 China 3rd China Rally 1999 Denis Giraudet Toyota Corolla WRC
20 Spain 37º Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España) 2001 Denis Giraudet Peugeot 206 WRC

WRC results
Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC 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
1987 Ford France Ford Sierra RS Cosworth MON SWE POR KEN FRA
8		 GRC USA NZL ARG FIN CIV ITA
4		 GBR 22nd 13
1988 Ford France Ford Sierra RS Cosworth MON SWE POR
Ret		 KEN 7th 32
Ford Motor Co FRA
1		 GRC USA NZL ARG FIN
3		 CIV ITA
Ret		 GBR
1989 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale SWE MON
2		 POR
Ret		 KEN FRA
1		 GRC
2		 NZL ARG FIN
Ret		 AUS 5th 50
Lancia Delta Integrale 16v ITA
Ret		 CIV GBR
1990 Martini Lancia Lancia Delta Integrale 16v MON
1		 POR
2		 KEN FRA
1		 GRC
Ret		 NZL ARG
3		 FIN
Ret		 AUS
Ret		 ITA
1		 CIV GBR
5		 2nd 95
1991 Jolly Club Lancia Delta Integrale 16v MON
Ret		 SWE
9		 POR
2		 KEN FRA
2		 GRC
4		 NZL
3		 ARG
3		 FIN
2		 AUS
Ret		 ITA
1		 CIV ESP GBR
12		 3rd 101
1992 Martini Racing Lancia Delta HF Integrale MON
1		 SWE POR
Ret		 KEN FRA
1		 GRC
1		 NZL ARG
1		 FIN
1		 AUS
1		 ITA
Ret		 CIV ESP
10		 GBR
Ret		 3rd 121
1993 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD MON
1		 SWE
Ret		 POR KEN FRA
2		 GRC
Ret		 ARG
3		 NZL
3		 FIN
3		 AUS
Ret		 ITA ESP
2		 GBR
6		 3rd 92
1994 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD MON
Ret		 POR
2		 KEN
3		 FRA
1		 GRC
Ret		 ARG
1		 NZL
5		 FIN
2		 ITA
1		 GBR
6		 1st 116
1995 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 MON
Ret		 SWE
5		 POR
5		 FRA
1		 NZL
2		 AUS
Ret		 ESP
DSQ		 GBR DSQ 51
1996 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 SWE
10		 KEN IDN GRC ARG FIN AUS 25th 4
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III ITA
8		 ESP
1997 R.A.S. Sport Ford Escort RS Cosworth MON
Ret		 SWE KEN POR ESP FRA 11th 6
H.F. Grifone Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 ARG
5		 GRC NZL
Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Corolla WRC FIN
8		 IDN
Ret		 ITA
8		 AUS
3		 GBR
Ret
1998 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Corolla WRC MON
14		 SWE
6		 KEN
4		 POR
Ret		 ESP
1		 FRA
6		 ARG
Ret		 GRC
2		 NZL
2		 FIN
4		 ITA
Ret		 AUS
3		 GBR
Ret		 5th 34
1999 Toyota Castrol Team Toyota Corolla WRC MON
3		 SWE
4		 KEN
2		 POR
3		 ESP
2		 FRA
5		 ARG
3		 GRC
Ret		 NZL
4		 FIN
Ret		 CHN
1		 ITA
3		 AUS
Ret		 GBR
Ret		 3rd 52
2000 SEAT Sport SEAT Córdoba WRC Evo2 MON
Ret		 SWE
10		 KEN
3		 POR
10		 ESP
13		 ARG
Ret		 GRC
Ret		 NZL
Ret		 12th 4
SEAT Córdoba WRC Evo3 FIN
11		 CYP
Ret		 FRA
8		 ITA
17		 AUS
8		 GBR
9
2001 Peugeot Total Peugeot 206 WRC MON
Ret		 SWE
Ret		 POR
8		 ESP
1		 ARG
Ret		 CYP
Ret		 GRC
Ret		 KEN
Ret		 FIN
Ret		 NZL
6		 ITA
3		 FRA
3		 AUS
3		 GBR
7		 7th 23
2002 Didier Auriol Toyota Corolla WRC MON
Ret		 SWE FRA ESP CYP ARG GRE KEN FIN GER ITA NZL AUS GBR – 0
2003 Škoda Motorsport Škoda Octavia WRC Evo3 MON
9		 SWE
18		 TUR
Ret		 NZL
8		 ARG
6		 GRE
9		 CYP
Ret		 13th 4
Škoda Fabia WRC GER
Ret		 FIN
Ret		 AUS
12		 ITA
12		 FRA
Ret		 ESP
Ret		 GBR
11
2005 Didier Auriol Peugeot 206 WRC MON
Ret		 SWE MEX NZL ITA CYP TUR GRE ARG FIN GER GBR JPN FRA ESP AUS – 0

References
  1. "Nadine Auriol - rally profile eWRC-results.com". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. "Didier AURIOL | Agissons pour Charade". www-pour--charade-fr.translate.goog. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. "About Didier". rally-japan.jp. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  4. "1995 Rewind: Auriol wins Thiry's Corsican heatbreaker". 5 May 2020.
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