“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.”
