Adrien Fourmaux emerged from a dramatic Friday at Rally Saudi Arabia as the leader by just 2.4 seconds, taking the lead from Mãrtiņš Sesks despite them both puncturing on the final stage.
Fourmaux has been a factor at the front throughout the final round of 2025, embroiled in a four-way scrap with Sesks, Sami Pajari and Ott Tänak.
The Frenchman led the rally into the second full day, but gradually saw that advantage reduced as he battled with a broken rear suspension arm. At one point, the top four was separated by just 6.3s.
But the penultimate stage of Friday looked to be decisive as both Pajari and Tänak stopped to change punctures, and Fourmaux – feeling distracted by Pajari’s dust – took the wrong slot at a junction, losing 24s through the stage.
That gave Sesks a 22.1s advantage heading onto the final stage of the day, Wadi Almatwi 2, but the M-Sport driver collected a rear-left puncture which turned the leaderboard on its head yet again.
Fourmaux took the lead at Sesks’ expense, but completed the stage with a front-left puncture of his own. However he was able to move into the lead by 2.4s, with outgoing world champion Thierry Neuville suddenly just 5.8s off the front.
“It’s been crazy,” Fourmaux said. “I don’t know where I got a puncture to be fair, but there are rocks everywhere. It’s a crazy rally. Every time we lose the lead we get it back after. We hesitated to stop but I said ‘no there’s only a few km, come on’. What a rally, what a rally.”
There was puncture drama in the fight to win the World Rally Championship too, as Sébastien Ogier struggled to the end of the stage with a flat tire.
That cost him what became fifth position to Kalle Rovanperä, albeit by just 0.2s, with Sami Pajari seventh ahead of Ogier’s title rival Elfyn Evans.
As it stands, Ogier is set to gain four points on Evans, who started Rally Saudi Arabia three points ahead.
Seven Rally1 cars suffered punctures or delaminations on the final stage of the day, including Neuville, fourth-placed Takamoto Katsuta, ninth-placed Grégoire Munster and Ott Tänak who lost over seven minutes on the stage.
“Amazing grand finale for WRC, amazing,” he said. “Not really for the cars, but OK.”
Oliver Solberg is the leading Rally2 car in 10th overall, with Gus Greensmith leading WRC2.
