Adrien Fourmaux: "We hope to have answers and find an agreement"

Don't look for sports, everyone is talking about it. The "word strike" is on everyone's lips in Nairobi where the third round of the 2025 season of the WRCThe cause is the protest led by the drivers and co-drivers against the FIA's very strict new policy and especially the heavy fine imposed Adrien fourmaux at the Swedish Rally for allegedly uttering an insult during a stop point.

A few days after this sanction, the protagonists of the rally international, under the banner of WoRDA (World Rally Drivers Alliance), had taken to the floor to demand greater tolerance from the FIA ​​while pointing out the recent drastic measures taken by the Federation.

For the resumption of the season at Safari this weekend, the drivers decided not to speak or to answer questions in their native language. Some mimed gestures demonstrating their silence, while others, like Elfyn Evans, opted for their own language, Welsh in this case. Or Adrien Fourmaux simply said "Hakuna Matata" after SS1, a reference to The Lion King, while they were in the African savannah this week.

The latter also returned to this opposition with the FIA ​​explaining that the drivers are waiting for a gesture from the governing bodies. So firstly, it was a bit of a lack of understanding for everyone at the end because I criticized myself., he recalls on Canal +. English is not my native language so I sometimes search for my words, we are also in the emotion, we finish a rally, a special... "

Regarding the action taken, the Northerner explained that it was the other pilots who came to see him to launch this “campaign”. We have a WhatsApp group and we thought we could talk about it because there were a lot of drivers and co-drivers who were worried.He says. We've gathered among the Rally1 drivers, but it also affects the lower categories. We all know where we come from, and 10 euros can be a lot for someone who wants to start their rallying career. We wouldn't want this to happen to these people either.

We totally understand that we shouldn't swear, I agree with that, but saying that "I messed up" I'm not sure that's a swear word, at least in France, even if it's not very nice and we could use another word. But I didn't attack anyone, I simply criticized myself. It's a bit of a misunderstanding from everyone. We simply hope to have answers and find an agreement with the FIA ​​and the promoter because we want to be able to give our feelings at the finish of the special stages. Are there any solutions? Maybe bleep out our words. We know that at the moment it can be complicated to avoid this kind of thing. Naturally, anyone can say a word they didn't necessarily want to say. That doesn't mean there should be sanctions behind it. We have to be careful about that and we simply hope to be able to find a compromise. »

What's next in Kenya?

The first runs in Kenya set the pace for the rest of the weekend. The drivers are unlikely to budge from their positions. Sami Pajari, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak or Kalle Rovanperä demonstrated this and got the message across, feeling sorry for the viewers behind their screens.

« It's simple, I think everyone knows the language to use when it comes to their native language so either we will remain silent or we will speak. [in our native language], in my case in French, adds Adrien Fourmaux. I will, however, make the effort to respond on my social networks in English a little further down the road to explain to people how my special went. »

The FIA ​​has acknowledged the drivers' motivations and has indicated that a discussion will take place after the race, even though its intentions regarding its new policy remain the same. This is a fight that could last a very long time...

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