Adrien Fourmaux, winner of the “Hyundai Cup” in the Canary Islands

He was one of the favorites for the podium – or even for victory – on the Rally from the Canary Islands. Winner of the event in 2020, in ERC, Adrien fourmaux could legitimately claim a good result on the Spanish archipelago. Alas, Hyundai was literally crushed by Toyota in Gran Canaria this weekend. The South Korean cars were out of contention over the three days of racing, hampered by poor technical choices and poor use of the Hankook tires. Forced to drive a temperamental i20 N, the three Hyundai drivers suffered all weekend with a lack of confidence in their car.

Of the three, Adrien Fourmaux was the best performer in this Rally of the Canary Islands with a 5th place behind a contingent of four Toyotas. The Frenchman has regularly been the fastest Hyundai driver against Thierry Neuville et Ott Tänak, even though his position was threatened for a time by the Belgian on Sunday, before the reigning world champion suffered a puncture. Unlike his teammates, who complained about the behavior of their i20 N on the winding roads of Gran Canaria, the Northerner was satisfied with the balance of his car, but much less with the management of his tires with overheating of the tires on all the special stages, or almost.

Fourmaux in front of two world champions

Finally, after a frustrating weekend where he was more of a spectator than an actor, Adrien Fourmaux prefers to remember the positive. "We won the 'Hyundai Cup' this weekend. The battle between the three Hyundais was the closest match of the event, he emphasizes on the RTBF microphoneIt's a shame not to be able to keep up with the Toyotas on asphalt, it's a first for Hyundai. I'm happy that we're going to gravel for the next races. Thierry Neuville was angry this [Sunday], but I wasn't angry enough. For my part, the positive point is that I was ahead of two world champions in equal cars. For the rest, it's frustrating because we missed something in the evolution to fight with Toyota. They are starting to hit hard."

Adrien Fourmaux leaves the Canary Islands with 13 points in his pocket but also a special victory during SS16… on a Super Special organized on a track of karting, with a scratch co-owned by Sébastien Ogier and even Yohan Rossel, in Rally2. Enough to put a smile back on the face of the Hyundai driver who is hoping for a quick rebound for his team at the next round in Portugal (May 15-18). “Even though there are some positives from this weekend, like the incredible final stage and the 'victory' in the battle between teammates, it's definitely not what we wanted. Sometimes in difficult rallies like this, you can learn a lot and take steps forward for the future. I have confidence in the team to achieve this. We managed to take some points, which is good, but we will keep pushing to come back stronger.”

ALSO READ > Toyota savors its fantastic quadruple in the Canaries: "This kind of result doesn't happen often"