Adrien Fourmaux penalized and knocked off the podium at the Saudi Arabia Rally

At the end of an epic day, fate had clearly not finished tormenting the crews of the WRCAfter a chaotic SS14, where punctures were rampant, Adrien fourmaux found himself at the top of the rally thanks to the explosion of the left rear tire of Mārtiņš Sesks (M-Sport), until then the leader.

The Latvian driver could have salvaged his first place, as Fourmaux also suffered a front puncture, which cost him considerable time at the end of the stage. Ultimately overtaking him by three seconds, the driver Hyundai shared a big smile of relief upon arrival with his co-pilot Alexandre Coria.

However, the euphoria was quickly replaced by disillusionment: Adrien Fourmaux suffered a 60-second penalty after SS14 for arriving one minute too early at TC14A, the technical zone preceding the night service.

The penalty, severe but in accordance with the regulations, dashes his hopes of a first WRC victory: Mārtiņš Sesks regains the lead of the rally and Adrien Fourmaux slips to 4th place behind the Latvian, Thierry Neuville and Takamoto Katsuta. A real disappointment that he will be able to try to overcome by being aggressive on Saturday during the last three special stages, hoping that his opponents are once again hit by a series of punctures and that he manages, this time, to avoid the rain.

Conversely, if the Frenchman were to lose even more ground, this could benefit the two title contenders, Kalle Rovanperä (5th) and Sébastien Ogier (6th), both 15 seconds behind the Northerner.

Ogier, virtually leading the championship and in the running for a 9th title, would take advantage of this to increase his virtual lead, while Saturday promises to be an eventful day with 10 points to be awarded between Super Saturday (5 pts for the fastest of Saturday's special stages to 1 pt for fifth) and the Power Stage (5 pts for the winner to 1 pt for fifth).

ALSO READ >  Ogier virtually crowned champion, relive the second day of the Saudi Arabia Rally with live text commentary

WRC – Saudi Arabia Rally
Updated overall standings after SS14