Adrien Fourmaux finished his first French Rally Championship round in three years down in sixth place after being slowed by engine problems on the first day.
Driving a Sarrazin Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally2, Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria finished Rallye Vosges – Grand-Est 1m26.6s down on rally winners Quentin Giordano and Kévin Parent (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5).
Championship leader Giordano won by just 7.9s over William Wagner, with Nicolas Ciamin’s Hyundai i20 N Rally2 third, 15.1s down.
Reigning champion Yoann Bonato was quickest out the blocks before fading to second and then off the leaderboard entirely when he crashed on stage eight.
Fourmaux meanwhile, who has endured a difficult World Rally Championship campaign in 2022 for M-Sport Ford with four retirements in the first five rallies, was third fastest on the opening stage.
But as early as stage two, his Fiesta had developed an engine issue and left him setting only the 14th-best time, falling to eighth overall.
With service immediately after the stage, the car was restored to full health and Fourmaux made steady progress thereafter to move up to sixth, thanks to two more third-fastest times on the final morning.
It was Fourmaux’s second event in a Rally2 car this season after he finished second overall at Rally of Nations Guanajuato in March.
Both of his full-time team-mates have contested national rallies in a Fiesta Rally2 this season too but failed to make any big headlines.
Gus Greensmith entered Numedalsrally in Norway as preparation for Rally Sweden but, despite his number one seeding, only finished fifth.
Craig Breen meanwhile entered Rally Sanremo in a bid to win the event for a third consecutive time. He was lying fourth overall before his Fiesta’s engine failed.
Fourmaux, Breen and Greensmith will next be in action on Safari Rally Kenya in a fortnight’s time, where Sébastien Loeb will also rejoin the team for his third appearance of the season.
