The first stage of the day started perfectly.
A first stage win of Rally Saudi Arabia (by 1.8 seconds) nudged Adrien Fourmaux’s lead to 7.8s.
But thereafter, the timesheets were negative: 5.6s lost to Mãrtiņš Sesks on SS10, and another 1.3s shipped on SS11.
Was Fourmaux worried? Nope.
Calm as you like, the line was consistent: “We are managing it well.”
On a rally as rough and demanding as this year’s season finale, that’s a strong strategic move from the Hyundai driver.
But managing his lead is not all he was talking about. Fourmaux revealed to DirtFish he also broke a rear suspension arm.
“In the ruts, on the outside of the corner, I did not see, there was probably a rock or something. I feel like a thump, I was like, ‘hey, that was something!’ So I put it in my notes for the second pass, but then yeah it bent the part,” Fourmaux explained.
“The car was not going straight after that so we had to manage it for the rest of the morning. We tried to change it [on the road section] because we had a spare part but the bolts were completely bent so we could not really untighten it. And so then the risk was to give another load on it and then to bend it more. So we had to manage it.
“But I’m really pleased with what we have done, considering that we lose a bit of time. It’s OK. We were managing it, losing pace in some tricky parts, and then push back on some others. So that’s the approach we had, and we kept with that. It seems to be working anyway.”
Driving quickly but also defensively is a real skill, particularly when the car is not at full health.
“I just keep my approach to be fast, I try to not be too focused on them because OK they are going back but I know what I’m doing, I know where I could push and where I have to slow down to avoid risk of punctures,” Fourmaux continued.
“So actually there were places where I could be faster but I’m always trying to make sure that nothing’s happening and I’m still carrying the speed so, it’s not easy. It’s a mental game for sure.”
Asked if he was lucky to still be in the rally, Fourmaux smiled: “Probably, yeah.”
The Frenchman heads into the afternoon 2.9s clear of Sesks, with the top-four covered by just 9.2s. Sami Pajari is third ahead of Ott Tänak, who won the other two stages on Friday morning.
“I guess all the youngsters behind [us on the road] as well, pushing very hard, I guess, yeah, they’re not too worried about the risks, so yeah, we had to react as well,” Tänak said.
