M-Sport tested with WRC2 crews

While the reconnaissance of the 91st edition of the Monaco round begins tomorrow Monday, the English structure is set up near the St Cré aerodromepine between Briançon in the north and Embrun in the south to allow the two crews lined up in WRC2 to get their bearings with the mount they will use in a few days.

This session which took part of the special where Ott Tänak avait effectué une effrayante sortie de route en 2020 était particulièrement importante pour Grégoire Munster. Ce dernier exploitait précédemment des Hyundai i20 Rally2 et il avait besoin de se familiariser avec la Fiesta. « Le changement de pilotage de l’une à l’autre n’est pas anodin, expliquait celui qui court avec un drapeau luxembourgeois. La Hyundai se conduit plus sur le train avant tandis que j’ai l’impression que c’est le contraire avec la Ford. C’est utile d’avoir du temps pour trouver nos marques tout en constatant ce que donnent les pneus également. »

From left to right, Alex Coria, Louis Louka, Grégoire Munster and Adrien fourmaux were able to exchange their impressions on the Fiesta Rally2 (Photo: Loïc Rocci)

Garée juste à côté, la Fiesta tricolore d’Adrien Fourmaux et Alex Coria portait encore des protections pour éviter que la décoration de la voiture ne soit détériorée durant ce roulage. Contrairement à Hyundai et Toyota qui ont proposé des Rally1 avec des couleurs quasiment identiques à celles de l’an passé, M-Sport préfère se renouveler. Même si Red Bull should still appear on the coat of the Puma, the livery will vary from that of 2022. This is also the case for the Fiesta whose blue sticks well to that of the Ford oval.

Does Adrien Fourmaux ask his engineer where the boost is on the Fiesta? (Photo: Loïc Rocci)

Far from these chromatic considerations, the northerner evokes his return in a Rally2. “It’s certain that at first it feels funny, especially when exiting a corner,” he smiles. No matter how hard I press the accelerator pedal, it doesn't happen the same way as with the Puma. We also have to be careful in the curves, because we have much less aero. The weather conditions that are forecast could make the rally even more interesting. With Alex, we can’t wait to be there. » New shock absorbers were installed on Fourmaux's Fiesta which immediately leaves for a few kilometers on base. Will they help it compete against the 13 registered Skoda Fabias and the C3s of Yohan Rossel and Stéphane Lefebvre? Answer next Thursday.