Safari Rally: Alexandre Coria: “You will have to be mentally good”

What is very good about Alexandre Coria is that he is truly passionate about what he does and there is no need to ask him much for him to give in. Although he enjoyed the few weeks that have passed since Sweden, his voice gets excited when he talks about Kenya. “ This will be my second participation after that of 2022 and it is a meeting that I have a lot of pleasure to compete in, He explains. I have very good memories of my first visit. With Adrien we signed our first best time there in WRC. What I like about rally, it's having to face varied terrains, in countries that change, which imposes different strategies in terms of attack or race construction. » Speaking about this subject, Alex thinks that the Safari requires a very particular approach.

« I think we must approach this round with a lot of humilityhe says. You have to keep in mind that this is not a rally like any other. Mechanics play an important role. We should encounter some pretty tricky conditions. Before the event, it rained between 2 and 4 days a week so I don't see how we could get through it. I don't think the top speed is enough. You have to be mentally good. The Safari is undoubtedly the event in which the co-pilot plays an even greater role than in others. During the sprints in Europe, it is clearly the driver who makes the difference. Performance there depends a lot on our drivers. Here, it's more the crew. »

Regarding the course, the Montpellier co-driver is not particularly worried despite his absence last year. “ There is ultimately little new, he points out. For the first time we are going to do the Kedong stage in reverse and there is also a new 14km at the end of the Sleeping Warrior stage on Saturday. The rest is pretty well known. We are going to leave 3^e on the road and if it rains, it will be better. If, on the other hand, it is dry, there will not be many traces in front of us and we will have a lot of dust to remove. »

Concerning the danger of seeing his driver wanting to do too much after two fairly successful races, the 31-year-old co-driver thinks he will manage to calm the enthusiasm of Fourmaux. " It is legitimate to aim higher and try to win, explains Alex. We reached a milestone in Sweden with our first WRC podium. There may be a risk of getting carried away, but if I was difficult before, I will remain so... I am not here to bully him, but to try to ensure that this allows us to continue on the same good dynamic which we have been following for several months. I tend to be too blunt sometimes, so I also have work to do to make it come out less direct. »

At the end of reconnaissance sometimes disrupted by rain, the crews will compete in the shakedown on Wednesday morning. This will allow Alex Coria and Adrien Fourmaux to reconnect with African soil behind the wheel of their Rally1.