Chicherit motivated for his return to the Dakar: “It’s the ultimate race”

Guerlain Chicherit likes challenges. Waiting its hydrogen vehicle, planned for the Dakar in 2024, the former freeride ski champion is making his comeback on the rally-raid with a 4×4 modified by his GCK Motorsport team, a Thunder.

If the front looks strangely like a Peugeot 3008 DKR (normal because it was originally a Peugeot diesel buggy), the rear of the machine no longer has much to look at. “My car is half new, laughs the native of Soisy-sous-Montmorency (Val-d’Oise). The engine is a 6 liter twin-turbo V3.5, the same one used by Sébastien Loeb at BRX and the gearbox was also replaced. »

Guerlain Chicherit's last appearance on the Dakar was in South America, in 2016. This break provoked a strong desire to do battle. “The Dakar is “the” ultimate race, the one that made me dream. Not having participated in five years, I missed it. I'm very excited with a hint of stress. It's a difficult test, plus I've been doing other sports lately. Coming back to rally raid, driving on sight, these are special things. I did a little freelance work which went well but at another level”, he explains to AUTOweekly, with reference to its success on the Silk Way in July 2021.

“I went to the Silk Way with the desire to get back into the habit of rally-raids. It’s such a specific sport. Driving fast for 15 days on sight is special. The Silk Way gave me confidence in my abilities. It was still cut in half and there weren't all the big names in the discipline. We have to be realistic, the challenge of the Dakar is completely different. »

Holder of three stage victories with X-Raid in the event, the entrepreneur had since converted to the World Championship of rallycross (WorldRX). The switch between an intense race in a sprint format and a long marathon lasting almost two weeks must be approached with caution.

“This could be decisive during the race. I voluntarily did tests in this direction in Morocco, doing 300 km specials. Honestly, I didn't feel any loss of attention or efficiency. I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things. I am confident and I feel very good. »

As for a performance objective, Guerlain Chicherit, associated with Alexandre Winocq, will want to combine speed and regularity. “I want to put into practice the confidence I have in my driving. I'll make sure to drive fast with it the desire to win special stages, and this goes hand in hand with the idea of ​​achieving a good result in the general classification such as a top 5. Be careful, this does not mean driving like crazy and taking the risk of damaging the car. It's a balance to find. »

Unfortunately, a problem with the electrical harness has already cost him a whopping two hours during the Prologue. If any ambition in the general classification is obsolete, the possibility of achieving great successes over the 12 stages towards Jeddah remains very real.