Disaster for Adrien Fourmaux – time penalty shatters hopes of maiden WRC win

The afternoon loop delivered plenty of drama, especially with punctures. Fourmaux topped the times after the final stage of the day, holding a lead of a few seconds over Martins Sesks and Thierry Neuville.

But the drama did not end there. Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria made a major blunder before arriving at the evening service.

The French pair checked in one minute early to the technical zone before service. As a result, they were automatically handed a one-minute time penalty.

The penalty pushed Fourmaux down to fourth place, 57.6 seconds off the lead. In practice, this means the Hyundai driver can no longer fight for his first WRC victory on the final day of the rally.

Fourmaux’s penalty promoted M-Sport Ford driver Sesks into the rally lead. He will fight on Sunday for his maiden victory against Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who is only 3.4 seconds behind.

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta is now holding on to the final podium place. Katsuta has a 16.1-second buffer over Fourmaux.

Three stages remain on the final day of Rally Saudi Arabia, which will also decide this year’s championship title. Sébastien Ogier in sixth and Elfyn Evans in eighth are expected to push flat out, as the bonus points handed out on Super Saturday appear likely to determine the next champion.

Updated standings after SS14/17 at Rally Saudi Arabia: