Another impressive, consistent and determined drive for Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria resulted in their fourth podium result of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship.
After an intelligent performance and avoiding issues throughout the weekend, the French pairing found themselves unexpectedly move up into third overall on Sunday morning in their Ford Puma Rally1.
Despite weather conditions making the fast and technical rally even tougher on the opening days, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s three crews have made it to the finish of Secto Rally Finland 2024.
After a pain-free Super Special stage on Thursday evening, overnight rain would set a tricky stage for Friday morning’s action, with crews across the field struggling with the wet, muddy and slippery conditions.
Fourmaux and teammate Grégoire Munster would both struggle with grip, but as the morning panned out, the stages would dry and both Puma Rally1 crews would get closer to the pace at the top of the field.
A badly timed bout of rain would catch out Munster and co-driver Louis Louka in SS4 as the downpour came on just as he started the stage, but the Luxembourger would keep focused, setting a seventh-fastest time on SS5 and settling himself in seventh overall heading into the midday service. Fourmaux displayed his growing confidence with a fifth fastest time on SS5 and placed himself sixth at the midday point.
Feeling renewed after some set-up changes during service, Fourmaux would advance into fifth after problems for Lappi on SS6 and go onto show a strong afternoon loop with improved pace, setting consistent top-five and top-six times throughout. Rounding the day off fourth-fastest on SS4, Fourmaux secured a strong road position for Saturday.
Like Fourmaux, Munster would also see a steady afternoon on Friday, but on Saturday morning the similarities would end. A roll for Munster on the opening stage would call for a dramatic and abrupt end to the day, with the severely damaged car returning to service. A herculean effort from the M-Sport mechanics saw the car reborn within four hours, and ready to start again on Sunday allowing more valuable mileage for Munster.
Fourmaux’s Saturday, however, would be straightforward, advancing into fourth overall on SS12 after a problem for Evans. His consistency would pay off with a third-fastest stage time on SS15, and an enjoyable run through the epic Ouninpohja stage left Fourmaux and Coria giggling at the end of the day.
With Munster opening the road on Sunday morning, both crews had a clear goal to finish with no problems. Munster did this well, gaining seven positions across the four stages and gaining a single point in the Super Sunday standings.
Sunday would bring surprise for Fourmaux when Rovenperä went off the road on the penultimate stage, with Fourmaux and Coria therefore inheriting the bottom step of the podium. A clean run through the Laajavuori Power Stage saw the pairing set the fourth-fastest time, collecting two extra points and their fourth podium result of the season so far.
Once again showcasing his skill, perseverance and intelligence as a driver, Fourmaux’s third overall finish on Rally Finland highlights his growing maturity and experience as he survives the famously challenging event mistake-free. He takes home 18 points in total and remains fifth in the drivers’ championship standings.
William Creighton and Liam Regan had a mixed weekend on their first Rally Finland. Competing in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 in the WRC2 category, the pair started out well on Friday morning, getting closer to the pace of the frontrunners throughout. The afternoon would bring problems, when the deep ruts on SS6 caused an impact underneath the car damaging the cooling package, calling for early retirement.
Back out on the road on Saturday, the Irish pairing launched back into action with a 10th-fastest time in WRC2 on SS11, keen to make further progress on their first Finnish foray. A puncture in the afternoon hindered their pace, stopping mid-stage to repair it, and they ended the day 19th in WRC2. Sunday went without dramas, and Creighton would finish 18th in WRC2 with solid experience on high-speed gravel.
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
“This morning I was not expecting to be celebrating a fourth podium for Adrien and Alex but it has been a very pleasant surprise after quite a tough weekend.
“Adrien has struggled with the setup of the car over the weekend and the weather conditions have not made it any easier, however a very mature and clever drive has meant he has taken his fourth podium finish of the season, something he and Alex should be very proud of.
“It was also incredible to watch the team repair Gregoire’s car in only four hours. They really have done a fantastic job and showed just how good they all are.
“I’m happy to go into our summer break with this great result and I think we can now be very strong for the remainder of the season. It’s been a very busy few weeks with three rallies in a short space of time and I would like to thank everybody for all the hard work and getting us such good results across all these events.”
Adrien Fourmaux, Third Overall, said:
“It has been a tricky weekend, I have struggled to find confidence in the car in the tough conditions, but once I knew it was going to be difficult to fight the top guys I wanted to do a sensible drive and so I worked on the car setup over the first two days and just made sure I didn’t make any mistakes. We found some good improvements and driving Ouninpohja in this car was just amazing.
“To end the rally with a podium is not necessarily what I was expecting, but a focused drive all weekend made sure we were there in case anything happened to the others and I can be really happy with my weekend and my fourth podium this year!
“Now I look forward to a few weeks off before Rally Greece and the rest of the season, where I want to be strong and keep challenging for the top spots.”
Grégoire Munster, 49th Overall, said:
“I think it was a tricky event, for our first time in Finland in a Rally1 car it for sure wasn’t easy, especially with these conditions. We can be happy with our first day on Friday. For the second day, yes it was disappointing, not just because of the off but also because we missed out on the kilometers in these tough conditions and the famous stage of Ouninpohja!
“The team did an amazing job to fix the car so we could continue on Sunday, to gain 40 crucial kilometers so we could finish on a good note before the next event. I was really glad to have the opportunity to drive again and finish the rally.”
William Creighton, 46th Overall, 18th WRC2, said:
“A difficult rally with quite inconsistent conditions with the rain showers. Unfortunately we had to retire on Friday, but the team did a great job to get everything sorted so we could gain experience for the rest of the stages. The atmosphere has been incredible and I hope we can return to these classic stages in the future! Thanks to everyone at M-Sport and MI Rally Academy for supporting us this weekend.”
Published 5th August 2024