The Prodrive Hunter T1+ might be the flagship vehicle of Bahrain Raid Xtreme, but the 2023 Dakar Rally will also see a pair of privateers piloting one. Less than a month after Vaidotas Žala announced he will drive a Hunter, Guerlain Chicherit did the same on Wednesday as part of a two-year agreement between his GCK Motorsport and Prodrive.
Chicherit’s first race with the Hunter will be the Rallye du Maroc on 1–6 October. After running the 2023 Dakar Rally on 31 December 2022 – 15 January 2023, he will run every race of that year’s World Rally-Raid Championship with the car.
The Frenchman ran the 2022 Rally in the GCK Thunder, a two-wheel-drive car powered by biofuel that used the Peugeot 3008 as a platform. Despite running as high as eighth, he dropped out after the eleventh stage.
“I was happy to be back at the Dakar earlier this year,” said Chicherit. “Unfortunately, we were made only too aware of the handicap two-wheel drive cars like our GCK Thunder have to deal with. So this time, we’ve opted for AWD.
“Competition is stiff. At least ten cars are capable of winning. But I think we are in with a chance of being out in front, especially as the course is difficult, very sandy, which is what I like, so I hope that we can clinch it. Whatever happens, the Prodrive programme will be beneficial to GCK Motorsport because it is part of a learning curve. The team needs to build up the confidence to take a hydrogen car to the top in the future.”
Like the Thunder, the Hunter runs on renewable energy, utilising agriculture waste. Chicherit and GCK (Green Corp Konnection) have long stressed the importance of environmentally friendly fuel sources, with plans of fielding the hydrogen-powered e-Blast 2 at the 2024 race.
Chicherit’s firesuit and his Hunter’s livery will also sport post-apocalyptic theming based on the Mad Max film.
