WRC
Adrien Fourmaux, a thunderous podium in Sweden: “This is only my fourth rally on snow in my career! »
The Ford Puma Rally1 hybrid is still powerful. © DPPI / Nikos Natikis
Adrien fourmaux has only competed in four events on snow, and here he is already on a podium! The 29-year-old French driver actually reached the finish of the Rally of Sweden 2024 in 3rd place, behind Esapekka Lapland (Hyundai) and Elfyn Evans (Toyota).
This one means a lot 🥹 Adrien and Alex claim their first WRC podium 🥉🤩@OfficialWRC @AdrienFourmaux @FordPerformance pic.twitter.com/rbACePMUwB
— M-Sport (@MSportLtd) February 18, 2024
AT LRE ALSO > Rally Sweden – Esapekka Lappi surprise winner, remarkable podium for Adrien Fourmaux
The driver of the M-Sport Ford clan appeared on the virtual podium briefly during the first stage of Friday, contested in the snowstorm, before returning to 2nd position throughout the day on Saturday following the exit from the road by Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota).
On Sunday, Adrien Fourmaux lowered the pace by favoring a cautious finish in 3rd place, rather than getting close to or even exceeding the limits by playing with Evans.
Finishing in this position was not easy for the Northerner, as he explained a few moments after the finish. “ This (Sunday) morning, I felt like I was back at driving school. Sometimes it felt like I no longer knew how to drive the car, while other times it felt better. The pressure was definitely there but I wanted to concentrate on my driving and forget about the importance of this podium. » Mission accomplished for the former winner of the Youth Rally selection in 2016, who also climbs to 3rd place in the Drivers' Championship with 29 points, ahead of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) and Ott Tänak (Hyundai).
Beyond this rare performance for a Frenchman on Scandinavian soil, Adrien Fourmaux remembers the way in which this result was obtained, and the way in which he held off the experienced Elfyn Evans (Toyota) on Saturday.
“It was a great battle with Elfyn on Saturday. That's the thing I'm most proud of from the weekend: keeping Evans behind me throughout the second stage. He had to attack a lot to overtake me. I am very happy with this podium, because it is only my fourth rally on snow in my career! »
Medhi Casaurang
Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!
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DANIEL MEYERS
18/02/2024 at 04:43 a.m.
The click, finally?! At the very least, congratulations for the performance, but really what a shame to have to play short on the last three specials, he still took 34 seconds over the 61 km of the last stage.