Guerlain Chicherit has been out of the public eye since bowing out of the 2025 Dakar Rally. As it turns out, that may have been intentional.

A report by L’Équipe revealed Chicherit and his family have presumably gone into hiding because of debts owed in the wake of his businesses collapsing.

Chicherit, a champion skier in addition to his motorsports endeavors, owns several companies and properties such as ski resorts, hotels, and restaurants. His portfolio also includes racing projects like his team GC Kompetition, the e-Blast H2 hydrogen rally raider and bioethanol-based GCK Thunder, and helping to bring Lancia back to the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

However, many of his businesses have since gone into liquidation and left investors demanding their money. Further investigation by L’Équipe found an empty warehouse in Aix-les-Bains that previously built the Lancia Delta World RX cars (which only appeared for part of the 2023 season before withdrawing due to a fire), along with shuttered hotels and other entities. Eventually, bankruptcy filings extended to his personal assets. The Thunder and H2 never raced a Dakar either despite hopes of respectively debuting in 2022 and 2023.

L’Équipe spoke with Chicherit’s close friend and financial backer Pierre Zimmermann, who said “he doesn’t want us to find him.” Philippe Lutz, another partner, mentioned Chicherit had been driving an armored Bentley for protection.

The paper added the fact that he didn’t appear at January’s Dakar, which he’s raced since 2005 and annually for the past four years, was also a telltale sign that something was up. Chicherit retired from the 2025 Dakar after rolling his Mini several times in Stage 6.

“He’s an exceptional salesman; just weak in implementing his ideas,” Zimmermann told L’Équipe. “I lent him a few million and lost at least 200 million euros. My Buddhist philosophy fortunately means I’ve detached myself from money. It’s a bombshell.”

Featured image credit: Paulo Maria / ASO