N°211 Car OVERDRIVE RACING

GUERLAIN CHICHERIT

(fra) 1.8m / 75kg

Hobbies

travail, sports extrêmes, cinéma, design

Sponsors

Toyota Overdrive, GCK, Tignes, OMP, 808 Water, Les Etincelles

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

2023 : Sonora Rally (7e) / Rallye du Maroc (ab. Etape 5). W2RC : 9e
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)

Interview

“This could be the right time to win”

The Dakar occupies a special place at the crossroads of Guerlain Chicherit's many lives. The young man from Tignes very quickly fell into the category of ultra-talented jack-of-all-trades. An extreme skiing world champion, the mountain man has shown to be quite handy behind a steering wheel, as his first rally appearances (J-WRC) showed, discovered the Dakar in 2005: 49th. Spotted by Team X-Raid, the fastest blond-haired driver in the field showed his competitiveness in 2006, finishing 9th overall. After that, Guerlain's Dakar career was full of twists and turns, sometimes too spectacular for his cars to handle. He has, nevertheless, always stood out for his panache and has on his CV a 5th place finish in 2010... and the almost complete range of problems a Dakar can bring. Since retiring in 2016 after having exhausted himself trying to push the X-Raid-designed Zebra Buggy to the finish, Chicherit has temporarily distanced himself from his beloved Dakar but has multiplied his activities. The Savoyard native now flourishes as a businessman, retaining his versatility as a considerable asset. Involved in real estate, he has developed a top-of-the-range hotel concept in the mountains. His interest in cars led him to establish his own race team. His involvement is laser-focused on the need to provide energy transition solutions across the board, in motorsports and far beyond. By founding the GCK industrial group, Chicherit is taking a forward-looking approach, which is already firmly rooted in the present. The hydrogen-powered or 'retrofitted' vehicles that leave its workshops contribute to the transport systems of several local communities: snow groomers for the Alpe d'Huez ski slopes, electric-powered cruise shuttles on Lake Annecy, a fleet of buses for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and so on. While waiting to introduce the first hydrogen-powered 4x4 capable of winning the Dakar, Chicherit and co-driver Alexandre Winocq have well and truly resumed their rhythm of champions. First with the BRX Hunter, they drove to victory on the 2022 Morocco Rally before finishing 10th in the Dakar, with two stage wins. This year, Guerlain's instinct led him to the Overdrive team, where he took charge of the Toyota Hilux, which has proven reliable and competitive by winning three times, driven by Al Attiyah. To add his personal touch, the new co-captain of the team, along with Yazeed Al Rajhi, has chosen the same paint scheme as the stuntman Colt Seavers in the series "The Fall Guy" for his car... And what if it does the trick?


G.C.: “If you look back at my Dakar record, you can see that I've almost always raced cars that were still in development, very often performing well but still too green to be reliable. Whether it was the first Mini, the Philippe Gache-designed buggy or the Zebra that X-Raid had bet on for a while, I was sometimes obliged to overperform to get results. But ultimately, there was always something missing to really make it work. Because in the Dakar, you can't leave anything to chance, which is just how it is. But you have to take responsibility for your mistakes, so do I always have to make excuses? Of course not.
When I thought about the 2024 Dakar, knowing that Pro Drive was betting on Loeb and Al Attiyah as part of their project with Renault-Dacia, I figured they wouldn't put the maximum resources into my car. So I went to Overdrive, and it's not for nothing that Nasser has won three times with the Hilux. It is a great car. We were often in front over the five days of special stages on the Morocco Rally, and I found my speed. It's up to me to seize my opportunity. And show that I can rise to the level expected of me. The aim is to win, and now might be the right time.”

Vehicle

OVERDRIVE RACING

TOYOTA HILUX OVERDRIVE
OVERDRIVE RACING

  • TOYOTA
  • HILUX OVERDRIVE
  • Toyota Overdrive
  • Overdrive Racing
  • T1+: Prototype Cross-Country Cars 4x4

Ranking 2024

All news of G. Chicherit

Summary - 19/01 17:53 [GMT +3]

Dakar 2024: Brabec and Sainz, masters of the dunes

The 46th edition of the Dakar, the 5th to be organised in Saudi Arabia, has finished after more than 4,700 kilometres of specials and a total distance of almost 8,000 kilometres, which tested the riders, drivers, co-pilots and crews, from the ancient city of AlUla to the shores of the Red Sea, passing through the oceans of dunes in the Empty Quarter. The major winners of the 2024...

Summary - 18/01 18:48 [GMT +3]

Brabec and Sainz show who’s boss

FOCUS

The terrain proves decisive! With more than 4,700 kilometres of specials over two weeks of racing, it is still possible to predict where the victory will be won. The dunes of the Empty Quarter definitely played an important role, while the volcanic stones on the first stage also played a part. Indeed, we could list the damage recorded on each of the stages in one...

Reactions - 18/01 17:38 [GMT +3] - Car

Guerlain Chicherit: “Alex had his best day with the navigation today, it was really awesome”

Guerlain Chicherit's second win in a row, and his ability to take advantage of his rivals' misfortunes, has moved him up to fourth place in the general rankings. With just one day to go to the end of the rally, the Toyota driver still has a chance of a podium finish, with just seven minutes separating him from Sébastien Loeb.

“It was...

News - 18/01 14:56 [GMT +3]

Dakar 2024 - Stage 11 | All the results

RALLY GP | BRANCH WINS STAGE 11

Ross Branch has achieved the best time at the finish of the special to grab his second stage victory on this edition of the Dakar. The man from Botswana has deprived Ricky Brabec of victory by 32’’, despite the American’s acquisition of 5’45’’ in bonuses. The American has therefore lost the same amount...

Summary - 17/01 17:25 [GMT +3]

Dakar 2024 - Stage 10 | When the going gets tough, the tough get going

FOCUS

Fresh memories never lie. Seeing the loop carved out near AlUla, starting and finishing at the bivouac where everyone had gathered less than two weeks ago, it was a given that this special was going to be a wild ride. The timed sector stretched for 371 kilometres on sandy terrain with a need for speed, either on the track or off-track, sometimes through rocky areas,...

Reactions - 17/01 15:01 [GMT +3] - Car

Guerlain Chicherit: "I'm a bit surprised we won today"

The winner of the stage, Guerlain Chicherit, is back in the top 5 overall and has still got room for improvement.

"I thought it was going to be really hard for us because we started with a puncture [at] the beginning. After that, I slowed down. I tried to avoid other punctures. We caught some other cars. The dust made it really difficult, especially...

News - 17/01 13:44 [GMT +3]

Dakar 2024 - Stage 10 | All the results

MOTO | Brabec victory caps Honda 1-2-3

Ricky Brabec has grabbed his first stage win in this Dakar and extended his overall lead over Ross Branch, who came in seventh at 3′45″. Nacho Cornejo was second at 2 seconds and Adrien Van Beveren third at 20. VBA escorted Brabec at the front of the race today, a task that will fall upon Nacho tomorrow. Sherco's...

Newsflashes - 16/01 11:38 [GMT +3] - Car

Peter is covering for Sainz

Stéphane Peterhansel, 2nd on yesterday’s special behind Ekström, deliberately slowed down after the start of the special to let Guerlain Chicherit and Carlos Sainz past. After 40 km, ‘Peter’ has the 65th best time, 7 minutes behind Loeb’s time. However, this strategy was predictable. It was inconceivable to leave the general rankings leader...

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