Gaston Rahier
Gaston Rahier (February 1, 1947 Herve

Herve

Herve is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Herve had a total population of 16,772. The total area is 56.84 km² which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km²....

, Province of Liège – February 8, 2005, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) was a motocross

Motocross

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...

 racer from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. He was three-time FIM

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....

 World Champion in the 125cc division, claiming the title in 1975, 1976 and 1977 . He later went on to race in and win the famous Paris-Dakar rally for BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

 motorcycles, in 1984 and 1985. At the end of that last year he was named, alongside long-distance runner Vincent Rousseau

Vincent Rousseau

Vincent Rousseau is a former long-distance runner from Belgium, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1984. In 1993, he had his biggest success by winning the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Brussels, the next year followed by the first...

, as the Belgian Sportsman of the Year. Rahier is a Paris-Dakar legend, once referred to as "The little man with the giant reputation." Rahier died in Paris after a long disease.