The GC Kompetition World Rallycross team has revealed a four-car line-up for its 2019 programme.
The squad will run as two separate permanent teams this year, with the main outfit complemented by GCK Academy.
Team owner Guerlain Chicherit will be joined by two-time European Rallycross Champion Anton Marklund in a pair of the Renault Megane RS RXs introduced last season.
GCK Academy will field a pair of Renault Clios RS RXs for Cyril Raymond and Guillaume de Ridder.
Raymond is a two-time champion in the RX2 support series, and won events in his maiden full-time Supercar campaign last year with Peugeot, while De Ridder finished as runner up in the RX2 series last term.
While constructors Prodrive had run the Meganes last season, all four cars will be run by French outfit FORS Performance this year, led by French engineer Stephane Orre.
“This is a really big year for GCK,” said Chicherit. “We debuted the team in World RX in 2018 and have been working really hard to further develop the GCK Megane R.S. RX, the first car to have been designed and built from scratch to compete in rallycross.
“To now enter the Championship with four cars is a big step. It allows me to compete in the Megane RS RX alongside Anton who I’ve been working with closely over the last few months but also to support two super talented junior drivers in Cyril and Guillaume to develop in a World Championship driving the GCK Clio RS RX. I’m really excited to see what the season will bring.”
Marklund has also been assisting with the development of the team’s Clio over the winter.
“I raced the GCK Megane in the last three races of 2018 and worked with Guerlain to further put together a development list for the car,” he said.
“Then FORS Performance offered me the chance to help them develop the GCK Clio during the winter which means I got to spend a lot of time and work closely with the team operating the cars this year.
“With all those opportunities ahead of this season, I already feel very much at home in the team. I’m sure that with the development and preparations we all have done during the winter, we have a good chance to race for top spots.”
Raymond was left without a drive when Peugeot withdrew from the sport at the end of last year, having driven a works-supported 208 WRX in Euro RX last season.
The 25-year old is targeting regular final appearances in his first full campaign with the new GCK Academy outfit.
“My vision for 2019 is to improve my driving in Supercars and to be a good teammate,” said Raymond.
“I would like to show my potential behind the wheel but also in the paddock at work. My target is to be in the final of every race.
“Joining GCK Academy is a really important moment of my career. I have finally become a race driver in World RX. It’s a dream come true. I’ll never forget this moment.”
Permanent World RX entries so far
Team
Car
Drivers
Munnich Motorsport
Seat Ibiza
Timo Scheider
STARD
Ford Fiesta
Janis Baumanis
Xite Racing
Mini Cooper
Oliver Bennett
GRX Taneco
Hyundai i20
Niclas Gronholm
Timur Timerzyanov
EKS Sport
Audi S1
Krisztian Szabo
GC Kompetition
Renault Megane
Guerlain Chicherit
Anton Marklund
GCK Academy
Renault Clio
Cyril Raymond
Guillaume de Ridder
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