Thierry Sabine (13 June 1949,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

– 14 January 1986,

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

) was a French wrangler,

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

racer and founder and main organizer of the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

Career

In 1977 Sabine got lost on the Tchigai Plateau, near the isolated mountain of Emi Fezzan during the

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

and devoted the rest of his life to its organization. His motto for the Dakar Rally was, ''"A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind."'' Sabine was noted for the care he took over the competitors, which was exemplified during the 1983 running of the event. That year, the route crossed the as-yet-unexplored

Ténéré The Ténéré (Tuareg languages, Tuareg: Tenere, literally: "desert") is a desert region in south central Sahara. It comprises a vast plain of sand stretching from northeastern Niger to western Chad, occupying an area of over . The Ténéré's b ...

region of the Sahara and 40 competitors became lost when a sandstorm struck. He spent four days flying over the region and was able to direct all lost competitors toward the correct route. Nicole Maitrot, a competitor the previous year, said of him:

"One has the impression that Thierry Sabine is God looking over his sheep from up in his helicopter, coming down in a swirl of airplane to help those who are lost."

Sabine was killed when his Ecureuil helicopter crashed into a dune at Mali during a sudden sandstorm at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 14 January 1986. Also killed onboard was the singer-songwriter

Daniel Balavoine Daniel Xavier-Marie Balavoine (; 5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, M ...

, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent and Jean-Paul Lefur who was a radiophonic engineer for

RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...

.Motorsport Memorial
/ref> Sabine's ashes were later scattered at the Lost Tree in

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, which the rally thereafter described as the "Arbre Thierry Sabine".Lawrence Hacking and Wil Clercq, ''To Dakar and Back: 21 Days Across North Africa by Motorcycle'', p.7 He was featured in the movie '' A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later'' released in 1986.

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Tour de France Automobile results

References

1949 births 1986 deaths Sportspeople from Neuilly-sur-Seine Racing drivers from Hauts-de-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 {{France-rally-bio-stub