Since his world debut in 2019, Adrien Fourmaux has only competed in the Portugal Rally three times. Each time, he managed to reach the finish with a 6e place in 2021 on the Ford Fiesta WRC as best result. “ I don’t have many participationshe admits. On the other hand, it’s a terrain that I love and it has often worked for me. I consider that Portugal corresponds to the real launch of the season on land, because the Safari was very atypical. What I also like is the excitement surrounding the event with spectators who are passionate about motorsport. Classically, the course is divided into three different zones. On the Amarante side, the times are winding, harder and they risk being degraded in the 2e round. Around Fafe, it is much sandier and during the 2e loop you will have to deal with big rails. » Having reached the finish line in every event so far, he has reached the podium twice. Sensations he would like to relive.
“ It’s going to be interesting to see where we standthe former rifleman projects. During the first stage, we will start in 3e position on the road which seems to me to be a good situation and a new exercise. We will be able to compare ourselves well with Thierry Neuville, Elfyn Evans, Ott Tänak and I will add Takamoto Katsuta. I much prefer to open on Friday than on Sunday. I know that some competitors will have cleaner roads, but they are not competing for the championship. It’s a shame, but that’s the way competition is and we have to focus on those we’re really fighting against. »
Ahead of the event, Adrien and the M-Sport team were able to carry out three days of testing. Two were spent working on the car while the final day was dedicated to tuning the Hankook tires. This accumulation of kilometers on different bases makes the Northerner confident. “ We worked with Reiger to develop the dirt shockshe explains. Since Kenya, we looked at the geometry beforehand and at the end of these tests, I am very positive. I can’t wait to see how it goes in the race. There have also been other areas, but they require approvals so I will continue to push for this to happen. »
Regarding the objective, the M-Sport driver is not getting excited, but he wants to keep the championship in mind. “ It would be really good if we could manage to regain points from the drivers in front of ushe hopes. I wish we manage to stay 3are in the Drivers classification. With the new points system, Ott has come quite close and we must try to recreate a gap. This may seem like a high goal… but we have to go for it! »
After the start ceremony and a superspecial on Thursday evening, the competitors will continue with three days of racing representing 337.04 km timed divided into 22 specials.
