Last year, Fourmaux made a breakthrough in the World Rally Championship, securing five podiums with M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1. For this season, the Frenchman joined Hyundai’s factory team.
Fourmaux got off to a brilliant start with Hyundai, finishing third in the season opener at Monte Carlo. He was also fighting at the front in Rally Sweden, but an off-road excursion ended his hopes of a top result.
Despite his exit, Fourmaux felt comfortable in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on the snow-covered roads of Sweden.
“I felt very comfortable with the new car, and I was pleased with my setup. In fact, I was a bit more satisfied than my teammates because I didn’t really experience the same understeer issues,” Fourmaux revealed to French site rallye-sport.fr.
Fourmaux’s Hyundai teammates, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak, indeed struggled at times with their cars in Sweden.
“I had a different setup from them, and that’s another positive point for the future, as the car already suits me well, and I was able to adapt it quickly to my driving style,” Fourmaux said.
The French driver was even in contention for victory before a series of unfortunate incidents derailed his rally. First, he had trouble with his helmet strap, and a few stages later, he ended up in a snowbank.
“Now it’s up to us to make up for it in the 12 remaining rounds. Of course, it’s frustrating, but we are optimistic for the rest of the season. There are great things to achieve with this car and this team,” Fourmaux said with confidence.
Fourmaux will have the chance to bounce back next week in Kenya, where he finished third last year in the iconic Safari Rally.
“The priority will be to play it safe and rely on reliability to avoid any trouble. In terms of performance, we’ll need to adapt to the stages and carefully assess the risks we take based on the conditions,” Fourmaux stressed.
“We’ll also have to get a better understanding of the new tyres and see the differences between the soft and hard compounds.”
