Fourmaux advantage in the Canary Islands Rally? "I'd like to get back on the podium, or even higher"

Adrien fourmaux looking for a boost. The Frenchman has two consecutive retirements in his last two World Championship appearances, in Sweden and on the Safari, even though he was able to score a few points on Super Sunday on Sunday in Kenya. He, who had started his campaign with a bang with a fine podium at the Monte-Carlo at the end of January, is now looking for some stability this season. And that's good news for the driver Hyundai, since the next meeting of the WRC is on a test he knows well: the Rally of the Canary Islands.

Indeed, among the Rally1 drivers competing this weekend in Gran Canaria, Adrien Fourmaux is one of the only ones to have already raced on the Spanish archipelago. And even better: he won during his only visit to the Canaries. That was in 2020, as part of the European Rally Championship (ERC). The Northerner, accompanied by Renaud Jamoul, was competing in his second rally in the European championship and had won the event aboard the Ford Fiesta Rally2. His first success in an international rally aboard a four-wheel drive.

An ideal rally for Fourmaux?

Five years after his success in the Canary Islands, Adrien Fourmaux returns to the island of Gran Canaria with emotion and ambition. Within the Rally1 field, he is one of the few drivers to have already competed in the Spanish event with Thierry Neuville, Sami Pajari, Josh McErlean and Grégoire Munster. A significant advantage for the French driver. “Having competed in the Canary Islands Rally in 2020, some of the stages will be familiar to me. I know the level of grip in the dry and wet [here], which prepares us for all eventualities.”, believes the Hyundai driver.

“This event is a purely asphalt rally, so we have to be precise in our pace notes, in the lines we take on the special stages and in our tire management, he specifies in the face of this new challenge on asphalt in WRC. It's completely different on this surface; everything goes faster, and you can feel every steering adjustment on the tires immediately, so it's really responsive. The transition between gravel and tarmac can feel like you're driving a completely different car and the G-forces we take can be significant."

After showing a very promising pace on the icy asphalt of Monte Carlo, Adrien Fourmaux hopes to confirm this this weekend in the Canary Islands on a surface he particularly likes. In keeping with French tradition, our two French drivers – Adrien Fourmaux but also Sébastien Ogier – will be among the main contenders for victory on the archipelago. Five years after his success in the ERC, can the Seclin native repeat the feat in the world championship? "The goal is to get the best possible result: I would like to get back on the podium, or even higher..." admits the Northerner, ready to fight at the forefront in Gran Canaria.

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