Safari Rally – Adrien Fourmaux: “There is a philosophy to adopt in Kenya and I love it”

Did you feel the need to take a break after the rally from Sweden?

I always find it a bit difficult to do nothing, so it's been a busy time. There are several projects that keep me busy outside of racing... and I haven't stopped much.

How are you approaching Kenya? You've obviously had some rather... unusual preparation?

(laughs) It's true that with Alex (Coria, his navigator, editor's note), we were the last to drive in the test. We went to Spain, but our session didn't take place. Ott (Thank you, Editor's note) had some issues with the car that warranted further investigation. Rather than waste a day by not running a Rally1 car that was at its peak, the team and we decided to postpone it to another time. We considered rescheduling it just before Kenya and then decided to keep it for later in the season. For the first time, we will be using Hankook tires for gravel. They will be different again in Portugal and then again in Greece. We decided to skip Kenya, where we will rely on the work done by Thierry (Neuville, editor's note) and Ott.

Is the lack of testing a real handicap for Kenya?

This isn't the race where top speed is all that matters. Mind you, you still need that, but what's most important is reliability. We'll make do with what we have this time and optimize for the future. Since the team has more experience with the 2024 car, that's the one we'll be using. That doesn't really work in our favor, since I've never raced on gravel with that version.

Your shakedown on Wednesday is going to be very important!

This will indeed be the first time I ride a Hyundai on earth…

Does this put you in a particular frame of mind as you approach the event? Have you prepared for it even more than during your other three participations?

I've already shown up at the start of a race without having completed a test session beforehand. Sometimes you can have some very good surprises. I've also had a great preparation that ended in a difficult rally. The opposite is also possible. That's part of the charm of this discipline. Nothing is written and that's even more true in Kenya where, if it's dry, you'll need performance and reliability. If it rains, it will become a matter of survival and we'll need an easy car. We'll have to adapt. Our preparation wasn't necessarily more advanced, but on the other hand, we put ourselves more into the "Kenya spirit." Before leaving, Alex and I went to Germany to work on the car. We wanted to be more comfortable on the road sections when replacing parts. In Kenya, there are always a lot of things to do, for example, dust in the air filters and you have to know how to change them quickly. It was my desire to focus on these moments to be efficient and we trained to achieve this in the shortest possible time.

The first comments predict a very difficult edition?

I've always been cautious about these assessments. We only ride on these types of roads once a year, and that inevitably changes our perception. This year, however, I find that there's a new special stage in particular that's particularly demanding. In SS3, the average speed won't be very high. It's 32 km long, it's very slow, and we're driving through scree. They're narrow and won't allow us any gaps. We'll see if it causes any damage or not. This section is very much in the spirit of Kenya. You don't have to be flat out all the time. There's a philosophy to adopt in Kenya, and I love it!

What will your goal be?

We will try to bring back important points in order to stay in the championship game.

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