Adrien Fourmaux has been demoted to the WRC2 category for next year’s World Rally Championship, where he’ll be joined at M-Sport by former Hyundai junior Grégoire Munster.
After a season in the Rally2 car in 2020, Fourmaux was promoted to M-Sport’s top-line team in 2021 where he shared driving duties of the Fiesta WRC with team-mate Teemu Suninen.
But when Suninen walked away from M-Sport halfway through the season, Fourmaux stepped up to the World Rally Car full-time and was impressive – not least on his debut in Croatia where he finished fifth overall (to date his best WRC result).
A full season with the new Puma Rally1 beckoned in 2022 but a big crash on the Monte Carlo Rally set the tone for what was a disappointing year.
Further accidents in Croatia and Sardinia compounded Fourmaux’s campaign and shattered his confidence, while a final-day accident in Ypres cost him the chance to compete in Greece and then New Zealand as his car couldn’t be repaired.
Fourmaux also missed the other long-haul trip of the season, to Japan, due to budget reasons, so his last event was Rally Spain in October where he was the highest classified M-Sport runner in eighth.
Earlier this week it was announced that Fourmaux would contest the Jänner Rallye on the first weekend in January, fueling suspicion that the Frenchman was set for a Rally2 program instead of Rally1.
And M-Sport’s announcement on Friday confirmed that Fourmaux will indeed lead the team’s attack in WRC2 next season.
“I’m really pleased to be part of the team for the fourth year in a row, and I’m looking forward to being back in Monte Carlo next month,” Fourmaux said.
“We have the opportunity to do an event with the Fiesta Rally2 just after Christmas which will be perfect preparation for Monte Carlo.
“I want to say a big thank you to the team for giving me their trust and the opportunity to drive in 2023, and look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
His new team-mate Munster is one of the most promising youngsters in the Rally2 class, having been part of Hyundai’s Junior Driver program since 2021.
Particularly skilled on asphalt, Munster stunned on the recent Rally Japan to take his first WRC2 victory – coming alive when the rain bucketed down on the final pair of stages.
“I have recently been to visit M-Sport at Dovenby Hall to meet the team and the facilities and infrastructure are fantastic; the workshop and the new building are quite impressive,” Munster said.
“The track was very nice to drive on as well, especially with the icy conditions!
“The plan for next year is to compete a lot of events in the Rally2, making use of my previous experience and discovering some events for the first time. I need to adapt to the car and want to perform well and get some good results.
“M-Sport is a real talent factory; if you look at Evans, Tänak, Neuville, they all come from M-Sport. I think it is the best place to evolve as a driver, the team is nice to work with and the car is strong.
“We have a good season ahead so the focus will be to maximize my work with the team to get some experience and grow as a driver.”
Team principal Richard Millener believes that with Fourmaux and Munster, M-Sport claiming the WRC2 title this season is “very achievable”.
“I’m pleased to still have Adrien as part of the team as we launch the 2023 season and think this return to Rally2 will be an interesting challenge for him,” he said.
“He has seen success in WRC2 in the past and we know Monte Carlo is somewhere he can deliver results.
“I’m also looking forward to welcoming Grégoire to the team for the first time. It’s always nice to see new talent within our ranks and he has a strong record that we hope to build on.
“Grégoire gave a fantastic performance in Japan last month, and we will hope to see more of that when he joins us in Monte.”
M-Sport is still yet to announce its full Rally1 lineup, although on Thursday Pierre-Louis Loubet was confirmed to be stepping up to a full season alongside new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul.
He joins new signing 2019 world champion Ott Tänak who will spearhead the team’s challenge in the drivers’ championship.
Gus Greensmith is thought likely to remain part of the team, while M-Sport is known to be keen on retaining the services of nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb on a part-time basis too.
In WRC2, Fourmaux and Munster’s biggest competition is likely to come from the Toksport Škoda squad.
Reigning WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm, rising star Sami Pajari and Hyundai refugee Oliver Solberg will all drive Fabia RS Rally2s next season.
