N°202 Car X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM

GUERLAIN CHICHERIT

(fra) Born on 20/05/1978 1.8m / 75kg

Hobbies

travail, sports extrêmes, cinéma, design

Sponsors

X-Raid Team, GCK, Tignes, OMP, 808 Water

2024 : 4e (2 victoires d’étapes)
2023 : 10e (2 victoires d’étapes)
2022 : abandon étape 12
2016 : abandon étape 12
2015 : 45ème
2014 : abandon étape 4
2013 : 8ème (1 victoire d’étape)
2011 : abandon
2010 : 5ème (1 victoire d’étape)
2009 : 9ème
2007 : abandon étape 6
2006 : 9ème (1 victoire d’étape)
2005 : 49ème

2024 : Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ab.) / BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal (ab.) / Rallye du Maroc (ab.)
2023 : Sonora Rally (7e)
2022 : vainqueur du Rallye du Maroc / Andalucia Rally
2021 : vainqueur du Silk Way Rally
2009 : champion du monde de rallye tout terrain FIA (vainqueur UAE Desert Challenge et Transiberico)
2000 / 2002 / 2006 / 2007 : champion du monde de Free Ride (ski extrême)
2003 : championnat du monde de rallye (J-WRC)

“I knew it was the best car after two jumps and two corners”

QUICK FACTS…

G.C.

  • Guerlain Chicherit's sporting career is synonymous with an ultra-talented jack-of-all-trades, French judo champion in the youth ranks, then multiple world champion in extreme skiing, before brilliantly converting his sense of trajectories to traditional rallying (J-WRC). His monstrous driving skills led to his Dakar debut in 2005 (49th) alongside his first co-driver, Mathieu Baumel.
  • The following year, the fastest blond in the field joined Sven Quandt's X-Raid team and finished ninth overall. He finished fifth in 2010, experiencing nearly the full range of Dakar difficulties.
  • During his five-year absence from the Dakar Rally, Chicherit used his panache in various activities. An entrepreneur involved in high-end mountain lodging, he has also set up a racing team in the same vein as the GCK industrial group, dedicated to transforming transportation, notably by creating hydrogen-powered or "retrofitted" vehicles. These alternative motorization solutions are aimed both at vintage car collectors and at transport systems for various local authorities: snow groomers for the Alpe d'Huez ski slopes, electric vehicles for the cruise shuttles on Lake Annecy, a fleet of buses for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, etc.
  •  Since his return to the Dakar in 2022, Guerlain Chicherit has regained his place among the outsiders, still determined to claim the victory missing from his immense list of achievements. Behind the wheel of BRX's Hunter in 2023 and in a Toyota Hilux 4x4 last January, the duo he now forms with Alexandre Winocq is on the shortlist of potential champions: four stages won in the previous two editions and a place just off the podium in Yanbu.
  • Back in the X-Raid camp, which has prepared a brand-new petrol-engine Mini, Guerlain won the Rally of Morocco prologue and held his own on several stages with the Dacias, Fords and Toyotas that he also intends to battle on the Dakar.

A.W.

  • Trained as a carpenter in his early years, Alexandre Winocq first discovered off-roading on a motorcycle, then on a quad after meeting Eric Vigouroux. After an initial experience as a mechanic, he made his Dakar debut in 2000 on these machines, which were rare at the time.
  •  It was also with Eric Vigouroux, then a buggy builder, that Winocq embarked on co-driving for a sequence that led him to finish 13th in the general classification and to be spotted as a gifted navigator and an outstanding mechanic.
  • The collaboration with Guerlain Chicherit began in 2014 and was interrupted by the Auvergne native's bout with cancer. In 2021, an unexpected call from Nani Roma, who was without a co-driver after Dani Oliveras tested positive for COVID-19, that Winocq finished fifth overall. But he has gone one better since his reunion with Guerlain Chicherit, with fourth place last January.
  • Following the recent Rally of Morocco, Alexandre Winocq opted for a completely original preparation for the Dakar, as he followed Eric Vigouroux in the Croisière verte: a nearly 15,000 km crossing of Africa from Paris to Cape Town in four solar-powered Citroën Amis.

AMBITION 2025

G.C.: “What I remember about the 2024 Dakar is that we were solid throughout and didn't make any serious mistakes. We lost time due to two mechanical problems beyond our control. So, there's some regret because we could have made a significant impact, but everyone has their share of issues, and we can't remake the film. In any case, we showed what we can do.

I had hoped to get into a Dacia this year, but I can understand why they went with Nasser! There were few choices for a high-performance car, and I wanted to be more than just another Toyota customer. I knew that X-Raid was preparing a new version of the Mini with a petrol engine, so I called Sven and asked him to try it out. And I realized it was the best car after two jumps and two turns. The Mini's chassis is unusual, but it was hard to see because the engine wasn't yet up to the same standard. But in Morocco, even though we didn't know exactly where we were going, we set some crazy times, even though we didn't push too hard. So, we're heading to the Dakar motivated and confident, both as a crew and in the car. But it's a tall order to battle factory drivers when we have fewer resources. I'll do everything I can, with no excuses.”

Vehicle

X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM

MINI JCW RALLY 3.0I
X-RAID MINI JCW TEAM

  • MINI
  • JCW RALLY 3.0I
  • V6
  • 263 kW / environ 570 Nm
  • 2020 kg
  • tubulaire en acier
  • environ 325 litres
  • X-raid Team
  • X-raid Team
  • T1+: Prototype Cross-Country Cars 4x4

Ranking 2025

All news of G. Chicherit

Summary - 17/01 17:29 [GMT +3]

DAKAR 2025: CONSECRATION FOR SANDERS AND AL RAJHI

Ultimate: Patience proves the wiser for Al Rajhi

• With a solid return to the Dakar following his absence in 2024, Henk Lategan moved into the lead at the halfway point, added a stage success to his roll of honour and held steady until the ninth special when he suffered from having to open the way. Yazeed Al Rahji, who was trailing in the South African’s wake until...

Summary - 15/01 17:42 [GMT +3]

When opportunity knocks, Docherty and Roma answer the door

FOCUS

The Empty Quarter has to be earned. Dakar entrants had to wait until stage 10 to frolic on its dunes. The field rolled out of Haradh before the sun peeked over the horizon to tackle a road section of more than 500 kilometres en route to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. The time had come to surf a sea of dunes, where the Big Kahunas rule the waves, for 117 kilometres...

Summary - 11/01 19:37 [GMT +3]

The grit of champions

FOCUS

This stage could well have been a trailer for the 2025 Dakar, shining a spotlight on two aspects of the Saudi expanses where the 47th edition is taking place. The special had the potential to restore minds and bodies to their pre-race day condition, beginning with a long sector on fast plateaus where Ross Branch and Guerlain Chicherit blundered out of...

Newsflashes - 11/01 11:19 [GMT +3] - Car

This is it for Chicherit

Mini's Guerlain Chicherit and his co-driver, Alex Winocq, rolled at the 16 km mark of the special. The crew emerged unscathed from the vehicle, but the driver complained of neck pain and chose to be airlifted to Ha'il for a medical work-up. This was Chicherit's fourteenth Dakar and it ends with his fifth withdrawal.

Newsflashes - 09/01 13:24 [GMT +3] - Car

Big losses for Chicherit!

Guerlain Chicherit was only 18’’ behind Nasser Al Attiyah after 173 km but dropped down to 17’20’’ back at the following time check, losing the advantage gained on his excellent start to the special.

Newsflashes - 09/01 11:37 [GMT +3] - Car

A close-run thing

Mattias Ekström has taken the lead after 87 km, 13’’ ahead of Guerlain Chicherit and 14’’ in front of Nasser Al Attiyah. Guy Botterill, the leading Toyota driver, trails the Swede by 1’27’’. In the virtual general rankings, in the current stage of the race, Al Attiyah has regained almost 1’30’’ over...

Newsflashes - 09/01 11:19 [GMT +3] - Car

Four constructors in the top 4

In his Mini, Guerlain Chicherit currently leads the stage after 31 km, with an advantage of 31’’ over the Dacia Sandrider driven by Nasser Al Attiyah, 33’’ over the Ford Raptor of Mattias Ekström and 56’’ over Guy Botterill’s Toyota.

Newsflashes - 08/01 13:48 [GMT +3] - Car

Chicherit and De Mévius over 20 minutes down

This marathon stage is proving tricky for Guerlain Chicherit and Guillaume de Mévius too. The two X-raid team drivers are over 20 minutes behind leader Yazeed Al Rajhi, a few seconds ahead of Cristina Gutiérrez, who, after helping Sébastien Loeb yesterday alongside his co-driver Pablo Moreno, lent a hand to Nasser Al Attiyah today.

Follow us

Get exclusive information