Adrien Fourmaux has seen his chance of a first WRC victory snatched away in two consecutive World Championship rallies
Adrien Fourmaux remains confident that his luck will turn one day after a problem knocked him out of contention for his first WRC victory for the second time in a row. Fourmaux was involved in an intense battle for the lead at the Rally Sardinia in Italy, even leading on Friday morning before finishing the day just 2.1 seconds behind.
On Saturday morning, Fourmaux continued his battle with Sebastien Ogier, but hopes of a first WRC victory were dashed after a front tire puncture on the eighth special stage. Fourmaux continued driving before finally deciding to stop and change the wheel. After stopping again to let Ogier, who was caught in his dust, pass, Fourmaux lost almost four minutes.
Fourmaux has already suffered a series of misfortunes this year. A technical defect took him out of second place in the Rally Portugal, while a technical problem after the first stage in the Safari Rally in Kenya cost him a strong points haul.
“It seems like we can’t catch a break, but things will turn around. First it was Thursday in Kenya, then it was the second day in Portugal, next time it will be the third day, and after that everything will be fine,” says Fourmaux. When asked about the flat tire, he adds: “It was just a skid mark, I felt a rock but I didn’t see it.
“I got a flat tire immediately, and then we tried to manage the tire. But it became quite difficult for the car, and I didn’t want it to happen like it did in Kenya and Portugal, so I stopped and we lost time. After that, we were too close to Seb and were told to stop so he could pass us, so we lost time three times. It was a big disappointment.”
Fourmaux’s day got even worse on the ninth stage when he went off the road after dust got into his i20 N. He also had a second wild deviation from the track on this stage. Fourmaux was thrown off line on a jump, but instead of returning to the road, he chose to go across a field, grazing a TV camera before returning to the stage at the next corner.
“For us, the damage was already done,” said Fourmaux when asked if the frustration of the flat tire led to two mistakes on the ninth stage that dropped him back to ninth place. “I was surprised by a jump, and it took me off the line. After that, I avoided going back onto the road because I knew there were rocks between the small road and the field. And then a lot of dust got into the car, and I asked Alex if his door was closed, and I forgot the next corner.”
