World RX: Guerlain Chicherit signs for two rounds with JRM
Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit will enter the upcoming French and Italian rounds of the 2015 FIA World Rallycross Championship as JRM Racing driver at the wheel of Mini RX Supercar. Chicherit is a stunt driver, a four-time World Champion in freeride snowboarding and former Junior WRC and Dakar Rally driver. Chicherit will debut in World RX at French round at Loheac from 4th to 6th September and after that he will be a part of the team at Italian round at Franciacorta in October.
Chicherit is a Monster Energy athlete with an impressive motorsport CV. He started rallying in 2001 with Citroen Saxo T4 and in 2003 he was a French champion in that category. In 2004 he became official Citroen driver in Junior WRC and finished 12th in the championship, driving Citroen Saxo S1600.
On 2006 he attended his first Dakar Rally with BMW X3. He won one stage and finished 9th in the classification. In the 2009 Dakar Rally he suffered an accident while fighting the general classification and only could finish 9th. Later that year, after achieving a great results series, including 3rd place on Tunisia Rally and wins on Rally Transibérico and UAE Desert Challenge, he won the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup, forming team with codriver Tina Thörner. In the 2010 Dakar Rally he get one stage win and finished 5th.
In the recent years he was most known because of car jumps and stunts. In 2013 he became the first driver to complete an unassisted backflip in a car.
“I’m super happy that JRM is giving me this opportunity to drive its MINI against guys like my fellow Monster Energy team-mates Petter Solberg and Liam Doran. I’ve been following World RX closely and I’m very impressed by its growth, today’s quality of driving, the atmosphere and the exciting circuits that are on the calendar. Racing at Loheac will be particularly special for me. I can’t wait to see my close friends, fans and the amazing French crowd. I hope I will be able to do them proud. The support I’ve had from around the world – and in particular from my home crowd – when I tackled the ‘Longest Jump’ and the ‘MINI backflip’ records – has been incredible and I hope they stay with me on this one. The pressure is on but I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge presented to me,” said Chicherit.
JRM Racing Team Principal, James Rumsey, concluded: “Guerlain’s motorsport experience is extensive and that will serve him well in a category of racing where natural speed and the ability to set up a car are critical. One of Guerlain’s biggest strengths is that he’s a driver who is prepared to attack a new challenge head on – you can see that from his recent record attempts with MINI. He’s a driver that clearly likes to put on a good show and I’m sure that will guarantee some on-track excitement in France and Italy.”
