It’s up there with the worst sounds in human history; your peace sharply disturbed by the ringing of your early morning alarm.
It’s 5.30am and you’re clocking on for the day, knowing that you may not get home until the clock strikes 12 to signify the start of tomorrow.
It’s an unfathomably brutal day, but grafting is in your nature. Even though you’re also one of the brightest rallying talents around.
Clearly, Mathieu Franceschi’s rise through the rallying ranks is far from your ordinary story.
An unprecedented 100%-winning season in 2022 preceded two strong years in the European Rally Championship – particularly 2024 where the Frenchman kept the far more experienced Hayden Paddon honest in the fight for the championship.
But it’s the effort he’s putting in behind the scenes that really marks the 25-year-old out, as he prepares for his first full season in WRC2 in 2025.
Staying humble
Franceschi is a grafter when he's not on rallies, so that he can actually go to the rallies
From a family of rally drivers – his father Jean-Charles used to compete and brother Jean-Baptiste still does – but also builders, Mathieu has been involved in both trades.
Away from rallies he works for the family business, but also has lots of part-time jobs in the evenings to keep the money rolling in.
“I work in the family business, and we are builders,” Franceschi tells DirtFish. “Next to this, I have a lot of little jobs because I need to find money, I need to win money.
“When you lose almost 10 weeks in the year [with rallying], you have to find a solution to eat at the end of the month. So I haven’t a choice at this moment, so I work the maximum I can next to the races.
“Sometimes it’s difficult because I cannot prepare like I want [for] all the races. But if I don’t do like this, I can’t go in this championship or in [these] rallies.”
Anyone who rallies a Rally2 car, at any level, knows there is no tree in the garden that’s shedding money to fund that passion.
Driving a Rally2 doesn't come easily for anyone - but Franceschi really has to work for the privilege
But Franceschi is a refreshing case of a driver who really does have a modest background, however is prepared to do anything to make sure he’s on the start-line.
Franceschi’s working day at times last year:
5.30-7am: make coffee at the village bar
7am-12pm: construction job, masonry
12-2pm: waiter at a restaurant
2-4pm: construction job, masonry
4-6pm – car reprogramming
6pm-12am – waiter at a restaurant
“Last year, I had four jobs at the same time,” he says. “This year, OK a bit less because it was impossible. Sometimes, I start the day at half 6 and finish at midnight and again, again, again, again at the end you are completely dead.
“And when I finished the week, I took the flight and go to ERC rally, and yeah, it was too much.
“The risk is by doing less work I make less money, but I also need to make sure I am as prepared as possible for the rallies I am doing if I want to be successful.”
Franceschi is scaling back his off-rally work commitments to make sure he is as prepared as possible
Working what could be considered ‘normal’ jobs always helps feed Franceschi’s hunger and desire for rallying.
“It’s cool because, for example, last year when I finished second in Hungary, second in Canarias and I was first in the championship standings, I go back to work and it stops you from dreaming too much, doing hard work all day,” he explains.
“Because if you dream too much at the end I think it’s not the same pleasure to be on the podium or to have a result. So it’s why, in the family, it’s always like this.
“With a good result, OK, you can do something bigger, like going in ERC is not normal for everybody. So it’s good to go and do this, but you have to work really hard.”
Why it’s time for the WRC
With Paddon concentrating on rallies in the southern hemisphere, perhaps Franceschi’s obvious move would be to have a third crack at the ERC in a bid to win it.
But there’s a very good reason why he’s not.
“From my side it’s the best moment to go to the next level,” Franceschi believes. “I mean, two years in ERC was really nice to take experience and everything, but to stay in ERC for me is not the best idea.
An ERC title would have been a realistic possibility in 2025, but Franceschi wanted to move up and challenge himself
“I don’t want to stay in the same level and I want to go in the highest level possible in my career, and to see where is my level, to be honest.
“It will be a big, big, big challenge because all the races will be new and I have to discover all the events except some kilometers in Canarias [which was an ERC round before this year]. But 30% is new, so it’s like new,” he adds.
Effectively, Franceschi wants to challenge himself – even if he is not sure how big a challenge he is set for in terms of competition.
“It’s difficult to say because I don’t know the exact level of the WRC drivers,” he says. “I know when the WRC drivers come in the ERC, they’re not so far [ahead]. Sometimes we can be on the fight with them. It depends.
“But to be honest, I don’t know. I want to try this year to discover all the events, take experience again and the plan is to do like in ERC: one year to discover everything and one year to fight for the championship.
“So yeah, I want to go slowly but surely. But not too much slowly!”
Toyota switch
Franceschi has made the move to a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 after three seasons with Škoda Fabia power
After three years driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 car in its various guises, Franceschi will be Toyota mounted in 2025 – and also reunited with Lucie Baud who he dominated the French Gravel Championship with in 2025.
Was this change in car something Franceschi actively wanted, or just the best deal he could find?
“During the winter break it was difficult,” he says, “because, you know, to find budget and to find everything to go in the WRC2 is a big work, because it’s a lot of budget. So I tried to find the best solution.
“For sure I know the Škoda like I know my house, but sometimes you have to change and to challenge yourself. And yeah, the opportunity with Toyota was clearly really nice.
“And now I take part in the development of the car. So yeah, it’s cool to have one foot in this factory.”
That’s an obvious perk, that will see Franceschi out in Portugal next week. His first taste of the Yaris was in the Canaries last week, so what were his impressions?
“For sure it’s an amazing car. I don’t know exactly all the best points because it’s too early, I think, and I have to discover a lot of things. But yeah, for sure it’s a really, really nice car.
“I have to understand because the sound is so different with the three-cylinder compared to four, so the sound inside the cockpit is different. I have to understand much better this point, but for me, the performance of the car will be nice.
“I’m looking forward to starting the first race to know exactly.”
Ogier’s support
Franceschi is not the only Frenchman to be steering a Toyota in two weeks. Sébastien Ogier is in Gran Canaria with the Rally1 version, too.
But far more connects the two beyond their nationality and the badge on their car. Ogier has been keeping tabs on Franceschi since he won France’s Rallye Jeunes program back in 2017 – the same thing both Ogier and Adrien Fourmaux have won before.
“I have known Sébastien since I won the Rallye Jeunes,” Franceschi says. “Since this moment, he follow me and we send some messages to push myself.
“Sometimes, when it was my first time cleaning he road on gravel, he sent a message: ‘OK, Matt, do like this, like this etc’. So he helped me.”
Ogier is a resource available to Franceschi should he want to use it
And he was one of the first to message Franceschi when his WRC2 program was announced, sending him a WhatsApp: ‘She’s beautiful. Happy for you. See you in the Canaries then.’
Franceschi responded with a screenshot on his Instagram story, captioned: ‘If the G.O.A.T. validates, we are good.’
“It’s amazing,” smiles Franceschi. “When I need, I can call him and it’s amazing to have this support.”
Now all he needs to do is replicate Ogier’s eight world titles.
“Yeah, for sure,” Franceschi laughs.
But what we can say beyond doubt is if that ever happened, nobody could have possibly worked harder for it.
