Adrien Fourmaux has, all things considered, had a good Friday in the French Alps.
Fifth place, and still within reach of Ott Tänak’s Hyundai ahead. No scary moments. Nothing that would lead to steam pouring from the ears of Malcolm Wilson or Richard Milliner. This was a very different first day compared with the first time around in the Rally1 lineup.
By his own admission, it could be better. There’s something holding Fourmaux back aboard the Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid.
“We know where we are losing time, definitely,” Fourmaux told DirtFish.
“There is one special thing: the car on the bumpy places, it is quite hard to keep [control] of the car. I don’t know if it’s the same for the others, but we are struggling a bit too much with the bumpy places. We need to work on it.
A third fastest time has been the highlight of Fourmaux's Monte so far
“I don’t know if we can make some change; I tried something on the midday service but it wasn’t really working, so I need to look with the data with the engineers, if we can find a way.”
That this is the largest of his woes marks strong progression from the last time he set foot aboard a Puma. Remember Japan? By Friday morning he was out, having aquaplaned into a ditch alongside Dani Sordo.
On the Monte, it was ice, rather than standing water. Tänak slid wide and off. Then Takamoto Katsuta. And later, his own team-mate Grégoire Munster.
But not Fourmaux. His morning loop’s most eye-opening moment? Clocking the third-fastest time on stage five.
“It’s really positive, really happy with our two days,” he summarised.
The Frenchman returned to the WRC's top flight with fanfare and fireworks on Thursday night
“Being seventh on the road and being fifth tonight, 0.6 [seconds per] kilometer from the lead, I’m quite happy to be fair. Because I still need to get the feeling with the car, the speed, etc, to play with the hybrid.
“There is many different things that I have forgot in one year, so I’m quite happy with what we are doing.”
What he hasn’t forgotten is the lessons learned from his demotion to WRC2. Patience is key. Don’t get carried away with a positive start.
“It’s something I’ve learned from 2023, so this is something that I need to keep in mind for here. And it seems to be working, so we need to keep that.”
If he can keep that in mind, there’s every chance he’ll keep his top-five position – and possibly even more – until the end of the rally too.
