Dakar 2023 – Guerlain Chicherit: “I don’t understand why we do special stages like this”

Guerlain Chicherit and Alex Winocq (GCK) were off to a good start in this 2023 Dakar. The winning duo of the Rally du Maroc 2022 had prepared well, and the fourth time recorded at the end of the first stage demonstrated this well.

Unfortunately, the French were trapped in this second stage between Sea Camp and Al Ula on Monday January 2, made treacherous by the multiple “trializing” and stony sections. Their Prodrive Hunter T1+ suffered a whopping five punctures!

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Forced to wait for an assistance truck capable of providing them with wheels in good condition, Chicherit-Winocq finally reached the bivouac at nightfall, 3h38' after Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), the winner of this special.

Exasperated, Guerlain Chicherit still had the kindness to come and tell us about his setbacks. “We drove very calmly in the stony sections, that's what exasperates me! I don't understand why we do specials like this. What interest ? It's not a Dakar special (that we did), it's Camel Trophy (off-road competition between 1980 and 1998 renowned for its perilous crossings at low speed. Editor's note). We were driving two per hour, it was crossing, there was no notion of piloting.

We punctured the sidewalls of the tires, continues the former freeride ski champion. It was impossible to repair the wheels. I know other competitors had flat tires on the tread, which allowed them to continue after patching the tires. But for us this was not the case. »

Guerlain Chicherit believes that the route of this stage therefore had nothing to do with this 45th edition of the Dakar. “It’s a lottery. This special stage destroyed the entire Dakar at the end of the second day. It's not a nice Dakar. Those who got through it may have played better, been smarter, but all the big cars are in trouble. It makes no sense. There were 10 cars that could take it, and now it's almost gone.

Unfortunately, the general classification is over for us. We will be looking for stage points every day with a view to the world rally raid championship (W2RC). "