Thierry Sabine
Thierry Sabine (13 June 1949, Neuilly-sur-Seine – 14 January 1986, Mali) was a French wrangler, motorcycle racer and founder and main organizer of Paris Dakar.
In 1977 he got lost on the Tchigai Plateau, near the isolated mountain of Emi Fezzan during the Abidjan-Nice Race, and realized that the desert would be a good location for a rally where amateurs could test their ability. In December 1977 he established a race from Paris to Dakar and devoted the rest of his life to its organization.
Sabine was killed when his Ecureuil helicopter crashed into a dune at Mali during a sudden sandstorm at 07:30 p.m. on Tuesday 14 January 1986. Also killed onboard was the singer-songwriter Daniel Balavoine, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent and Jean-Paul Lefur who was a radiophonic engineer for RTL.[1] Sabine's ashes were later scattered at the Lost Tree in Niger, which the rally thereafter described as the "Arbre Thierry Sabine".[2]
He was featured in the movie A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later released in 1986.
Le Mans entries[]
Year | Class | No | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Engine | Tyre | Laps | Pos | Pos in Class |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | GT | 77 | P. Dagoreau
(private entrant) |
Philippe Dagoreau | Porsche 911 Carrera RS | Porsche 3.0L F6 | M | 285 | 17 | 3 |
1976 | Gp.5 SP | 53 | ASA Cachia | Philippe Dagoreau | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.0L F6 | G | 288 | 13 | 6 |
1977 | Gr. 5 | 43 | Louis Meznarie | Porsche 911 Carrera RSR | Porsche 3.2L Flat-6 | D | DNQ |
References[]
- ^ Motorsport Memorial
- ^ Lawrence Hacking and Wil Clercq, To Dakar and Back: 21 Days Across North Africa by Motorcycle, p.7
- 1949 births
- 1986 deaths
- Sportspeople from Neuilly-sur-Seine
- French rally drivers
- French motorsport people
- Off-road racing drivers
- Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents
- Dakar Rally drivers
- Dakar Rally
- Auto racing executives
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mali
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1986
- Sport deaths in Mali
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Off-road motorcycle racers
- European rallying biography stubs
- French auto racing biography stubs