UNKORRUPTED withdraws from Barcelona double-header.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

GC Kompetition has on Wednesday announced that the UNKORRUPTED team has been withdrawn from the Barcelona double-header this weekend. 

After redeveloping the team's Renault Clio R.S. RX in the off-season. With updates including the installation of the ORECA Megane spec engine, new BOS dampers, and significant work on the weight distribution. The team had high expectations heading into the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

In a season preview video, the team highlighted weight reduction and the ability of the Clio R.S.RX to brake a lot later due to it's lighter weight, however, the first race of the season was a true reality check for the French squad with only Rokas Baciuska progressing to the semi-finals, but that's where the semi-final appearances would end. 

Kevin Abbring entered the fray in Finland but struggled to get to grips with the Clio R.S. RX sliding sideways on a few occasions and only bringing home a 13th-place finish. 

It was back to the drawing board heading into the Latvian double-header which saw the team run different set-ups and differential changes. The team also announced that they would use the Riga double-header as a test event to gather as much data as possible for a pre-Barcelona test, but following the results, GCK made the decision to withdraw the team from the Spanish double-header this weekend. 

"At GCK, we've made the decision to withdraw the UNKORRUPTED team from the upcoming FIA World Rallycross Championship event in Barcelona," the team's statement said. 

"Following additional test sessions after Riga RX, we have found significant issues that cannot be addressed in time to be race-ready."

"While we're not known to shy away from adversity or give up, this decision is the safest and best thing to do at the moment. We appreciate your support through this and our drivers and team will continue to work hard to bring you exciting race action in the future." 

Rokas Baciuska took to social media to explain the reasoning behind UNKORRUPTED's withdrawal: "So sorry, but #unkorrupted team decided not to participate in Barcelona race. Since the car is just not competitive, I don't see the point in rating. My goal is not to pull back."

Written By: Junaid Samodien

UNKORRUPTED uses Latvian double-header to gather information.

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

UNKORRUPTED has used the Neste World RX of Riga (Latvia) as a test session after a poor start to the 2020 FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

The French squad had high expectations heading into the 2020 World RX season after making significant changes to the Renault Clio R.S. RX that made it's debut in 2019. However, there expectations were not matched with on track performance. 

The fifth and sixth rounds of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Latvia was used as a test event, as the UNKORRUPTED crew trialled differential changes and tweaks to the set up in order to gather data for post-event analysis. 

To date, Rokas Baciuksa has claimed the team's best result, an 11th-place finish at round one of the championship in Holjes, Sweden. Fast forward to Riga-Latvia, rounds five and six saw the pair leading the tail end of the field in 15th and 16th respectively. 

Team founder and driver Guerlain Chicherit admitted that it was difficult heading into the weekend knowing that he would not be competitive.

"As an athlete, for sure it’s tough to turn up when you’re not fighting for the top but motorsport is not easy, and it was important to get this weekend’s runs to gather enough information and test the changes made ahead of our pre-Barcelona testing," Chicherit said. "I’m really grateful to the mechanics and the rest of the team, they just keep pushing on despite frustrations as we try to learn as much as possible in what is an incredibly short, hectic season this year."

"I’m really happy to see the work I’ve put in over the off-season on my own driving style come through as we can see it’s got much cleaner. Now I hope we make some progress ahead of Barcelona to see it come together."

Teammate Rokas Baciuska has also been left frustrated despite earning the teams' best result of the season to date in Holjes, Sweden. 

"A weekend like this is hard because I want to race to win but we knew it was going to be a data-finding exercise and need to focus on the changes we can make and the improvements we can find," the Lithuanian driver said. 

Ahead of round seven and eight in Barcelona, Spain, the UNKORRUPTED team will analyse all the data obtained in Latvia to integrate it into a test programme planned for the next few weeks.

Written By - Junaid Samodien