Things couldn’t be much busier for Adrien Fourmaux right now.
Fresh from finishing third on Rally of Nations Guanajuato, he’s jetted off to get himself ready for Rally Croatia with a pre-event test, and he’s bullish about his rally prospects.
There’s no denying that Fourmaux needs a result with two retirements from the first two events this year. But after a successful Rally of Nations Guanajuato on the challenging Mexican stages, he’s confident he is back in the rhythm and that he could be in with a shout of claiming a maiden World Rally Championship podium in two weeks.
“I’m confident. I just need to find a good pace and get to the end to score some points because I think we need some,” the M-Sport driver told DirtFish.
“I want to do a really strong rally and last year we finished fifth. So, if we can do better, I really would like to get my first podium.
“I think we missed something really interesting in Monte Carlo [with strong pace before I crashed], so I would like to get it in Croatia.”
Bouncing back from two retirements to claim a top three position is a bold statement for Fourmaux to make, especially when he will need to beat the world’s best asphalt drivers in the process. But it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.
Fourmaux clearly likes the Croatian stages. He had a career best of fifth on his top class debut last year which set him up for a run of six points finishes in five rallies, and M-Sport’s Puma Rally1 is capable of mixing it right at the sharp end this season, as was proven on Monte Carlo.
“We know that we have a strong car, so we’ll see,” Fourmaux said.
“We are also here to fight, but for sure, [a podium] is something I would like to have.
“But if I don’t, it’s OK. I really want to take this pace on asphalt and have a good feeling with the Puma.”
