Acropolis Rally: Adrien Fourmaux remains on the podium despite his touch

Adrien fourmaux and Alexandre Coria had an excellent first day (3 best times) completed in 2^e position only 3'' behind the leader Ott Tänak. Considering the difficulty of the stage, it was very promising for the rest. We left this morning thinking that it would probably be difficult to resist Sébastien Ogier who was 13''9 behind him, Adrien nevertheless found the pace to keep the eight-time world champion at bay. In SS8, he lost 3''6 to the Yaris before gaining 3''3 in the next. In SS10, however, a small contact damaged the rear axle of the i20 Rally1.

Adrien and Alex managed to escape the stage before making a repair that allowed them to reach the service park without receiving a penalty. Adrien retained his place on the podium, but didn't appear too frustrated after the incident.

« On a bend, there must have been something in a shadowy area that I didn't see during the reconnaissance., he explained while his mechanics began to work on his Rally1. I was surprised I hit it. It broke a piece. It's a shame, but there are still 3 of us.^e. In front of us there is a gap (57''4 on Ogier), but it only takes one puncture and we could get closer. As for the competitor behind us, he is also almost a minute behind (Evans at 53''), so we have to stay focused. On the liaison, we stopped with Alex to make the repair. We knew we had 60 minutes to cover 60 km. There's no need to put ourselves under pressure. The arm was broken, so I put a pin on the arm like in medicine (laugh) and I tightened it. We also put a strap on so the wheel wouldn't go too far... and we came back quietly. I'm keeping my spirits up... we're still on the podium. We're staying positive. »

Adrien's incident confirms once again what all the drivers have been repeating since the beginning of the rally : anything can happen during the Acropolis. Adrien has so far managed to avoid the pitfalls... let's see who the next victims of the terrain will be as there are 3 SS left today and the paths promise to be very damaged. We will also have to monitor the reaction of the Northerner who has not been impeccable recently in this type of situation.

ALSO READ > Acropolis Rally: Ott Tänak leads by a wide margin ahead of Ogier, Fourmaux unlucky