Dakar – Guerlain Chicherit: Great potential

Since his discovery of the buggy on the Dakar roads, Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit does not hide his preference for this type of machine. The 36-year-old driver will begin his ninth edition in Nasser Al-Attiyah's former car, which was extensively modified for the occasion during long testing sessions. He will be part of the X-Raid team, which aligns the Mini ALL4. After his retirement last year, the finish is the main objective of the man who took 5th place in 2010.

“I had already been speaking with X-Raid since last year. We took over the buggies that belonged to Nasser Al Attiyah, with the idea of ​​developing them over three years, explains Chicherit on the event site. Since June, we haven't stopped working on it. During our first ride, we were only able to do 22 kilometers! There was a little moment of discouragement, but we changed everything, apart from the bodywork. We broke everything on it, several times. But after many attempts, we arrived at something satisfactory. There is still work to be done, but she has great potential. We only decided at the beginning of December that I would go with the buggy, rather than a Mini. I'm lucky to find myself at the start of such a project, because while working at SMG, I became a fan of buggies. I consider it the future of cross-country: it's fun to drive, visual for viewers, and increasingly reliable and efficient. My goal is to drive it to the finish at all costs, trying to show its potential on certain stages.”

The buggy will be powered by a Chevrolet V8 developing nearly 390 hp. The 2015 edition of Dakar Rally will rush next January 4 from Buenos Aires, Argentina.