2011 AFRICA ECO RACESymbolic face of the rally‐raids, Hubert Auriol is back on the African tracks. Thirty years after his first victory on two wheels in Dakar, his objective is to join again the banks of the Lake Rose, the mythical place where everything began. A men’s story and a story of passion, passion of a discipline and a continent.

 Entering the 2011 Africa Eco Race is the ideal occasion to celebrate this anniversary …

To take up this new challenge, Hubert Auriol chose to share the adventure with his loyal friend, Jean‐Paul Forthomme. The crew is entered on a brand new vehicle, perfect equation between performances and extremely reasonable budget. The Predator X‐18 is a powerful, light, fun to drive buggy with reduced operating costs, totally in adequacy with the current economic context, a vehicle with future for the rally raid.

Hubert Auriol is dying to be at the start but his motivations are deeper: " My entry is motivated by the wish to take up a new challenge with a friend having the same passion as me for Africa and the Rally Raid. The Rally Raid brought me a lot throughout my professional career but today, with Jean‐ Paul (who is an orthopaedic surgeon), we simply want to reach the target close to our heart. Joining Dakar on next January 9th will be the occasion to give a substantial donation to the Belgian association " La Chaîne de l'Espoir " (De Keten van de Hoop). It willcontribute to the equipment of the orthopaedic centre for children (headed by Doctor Fall), one of the major projects of the association in Dakar, Senegal.

Thanks to the mobilization of people around us and in particular to the support of the company Vision IT Group (consulting and expertise to companies through the use of innovative technologies), we are ready to start. Vision IT Group was very sensitive to the human dimension of this operation. A new adventure and a deep motivation should bring our project to a successful conclusion … "

The operation details, allowing the public to join the project, will be communicated in December on  the official presentation of the team.