Q2 disqualification a "kick in the teeth" for Chicherit after pace shown in Latvia

PHOTO CREDIT: GC Kompetition.

It was a weekend of ups-and-downs for GC Kompetition in Latvia. On the opening day, Rokas Baciuska claimed the overnight top qualifiers spot, while Anton Marklund finished third overall. 

Team owner Guerlain Chicherit displayed good speed straight out of the box in Q1 when he finished in P1 and set the fourth fastest time overall. Q2 then saw Chicherit finish in fifth place.

After post-Q2 technical inspections, the Steward's received a report from the FIA Technical Director and launched an investigation into Chicherit's Q2 race. It was deemed that "the driver of car #36 [Chicherit] was found to push the launch button when the car was in motion." The Frenchman was disqualified from Q2, pushing him down to 18th overall. 

On day two, rain fell which made a fightback a little bit more tricky. In Q3, Chicherit held his line into the first corner and come out in second place. He took the joker on the last lap to finish second with the 3rd fastest time. 

In Q4, Guerlain had a slow start. He jokered on the first lap and finished in fifth place, bringing him up to fifteenth overall but still dropping him out of the semi-finals.

"I’m disappointed - our pace was absolutely there and losing out on a top spot due to a mistake in Q2 was like a kick in the teeth, especially as our speed in the following races in the rain was super competitive also," he said.

"Both Anton and Rokas deserved spots in the final as well, so it’s been a frustrating weekend for GCK but we know we are well capable of fighting for the top podium spots and will come back for more."

Written By Junaid Samodien