“I want to give myself a chance to win the Dakar”

The Dakar occupies a special place at the crossroads of Guerlain Chicherit's multiple lives. The young man from Tignes very quickly became an ultra-talented jack-of-all-trades. A world champion in extreme skiing, the mountain man also has a monstrous drive that he spotted on his first rally experiences (J-WRC) and discovered the Dakar in 2005: 49th. Noticed by the X-Raid team, the fastest blond driver in the field showed his competitiveness in 2006, finishing 9th overall. Then, Guerlain's Dakar journey was full of twists and turns, sometimes too spectacular for his cars to handle. However, he has always displayed a certain panache and has a fifth-place finish in 2010; and two stage wins on his resume. He has also experienced the gamut of problems one can experience on the Dakar. Since his retirement in 2016, after exhausting himself trying to push the X-Raid-designed Zebra Buggy to the finish, Chicherit momentarily stepped away from his favourite but has multiplied his activities. The Savoyard now flourishes as an entrepreneur, maintaining his versatility as an essential asset. Invested in real estate, he has developed a high-end hotel concept in the mountains. His interest in cars also led him to create his racing team, competing in the world rally-cross championship. But his involvement is more importantly accompanied by a desire to orient motor racing towards environmental responsibility and to provide solutions for the energy transition in all areas. By founding the GCK industrial group, Chicherit is part of a forward-looking approach, of which one of the facets is based on the Dakar: he has the ambition to field the first hydrogen-powered vehicle capable of winning the rally by 2024-2025. For this natural-born competitor, the stakes are far more important than the result. GCK is already preparing to supply hydrogen-powered snow groomers for ski resorts, buses, and combine harvesters. Without losing sight of the hydrogen ambition, Chicherit and co-driver Alexandre Winocq have started by getting back to a champion's pace by taking their place in the BRX team's Hunter car this year, which they drove to victory on the Rally of Morocco. Having now returned to an optimal level of competitiveness and with a car capable of winning, Sébastien Loeb's team-mate can target the podium result, which has always eluded him.

G.C.: “What has happened this year is very positive. I instantly felt very comfortable with this car. Of course, when we test, we all think we are world champions, but these feelings were confirmed at the Rally of Morocco. In terms of pure speed, we were often the quickest. I had wanted to get back into a good car for a long time, and this one is capable of everything. In Morocco, I was careful to drive two notches below my potential, and I didn't make the slightest mistake: I arrived ready to battle and left feeling quite confident. The navigation was complicated, and yet Alex did a great job. I think we have the maturity to go the distance. The unknown factor is clearly the performance and reliability of the Audis, but they didn't stop once in Morocco! And generally speaking, I don't know if I've ever seen such a strong field of contenders.
While we wait to see how the regulations on alternative energy vehicles evolve, I have decided to keep things separate for the car we will be preparing with GCK. I want to give myself a chance to win the Dakar. And if in 2025 our car is ready, I will be prepared”.