After a hiatus, Fourmaux, who returned to the top level of the sport this year, secured his third podium finish of the season. Like in Poland, he claimed third place in February in Sweden and in March in Kenya.
In Poland, the Frenchman’s gap to the leader was a manageable 42.7 seconds. In the World Championship standings, he remained in fifth place.
“I started to miss the podium. Of course, this was once again a third place, but it’s better than nothing. If you look at the time gap to Kalle (Rovanperä), that’s also positive. Although the starting positions were not the same throughout the weekend, the gap to the leader was only 0.14 or 0.15 seconds per kilometre,” Fourmaux explained to RallyJournal.com.
“In that sense, the race was incredibly good. We also showed that the Puma can compete in fast gravel rallies, which is definitely positive.”
Success in Poland was crucial, as the next two rallies will also be fast gravel events, with points up for grabs first in Latvia in a couple of weeks and then in Central Finland.
“The result showed that we are still at a sufficient level and can be expected to be competitive in the upcoming rallies. This was a very positive signal for Finland and Latvia,” Fourmaux said.
“I also gained confidence from this that I can fight against the top guys in these rallies as well. And that’s what we intend to do.”
M-Sport tested for the Poland and Latvia rallies in June in southern Estonia. There are no tests planned in Finland before the Rally Finland, but the success might change the team’s management’s opinions.
“There are no tests planned, but perhaps with this result, we need to adjust our approach a bit. We still have test days left with the team, so we just need to consider which rallies to use them for,” Fourmaux summarised.
