Adrien Fourmaux ready for surreal Safari as he chases third career podium

Having finished on the podium last time out for his former team M-Sport Ford, Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux is back in Kenya to attempt to give his new outfit, Hyundai World Rally Team his first FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally victory.

Fourmaux finished third in 2024 to gift Ford a first Safari podium since the iconic event returned to the WRC calendar in 2021 and this time, he will partner with world champion, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak in the Hyundai i20 Rally1 parade.

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The fast Frenchman maintains nothing in the WRC calendar compared to the Safari Rally and he would know something about that as he has revved in every Safari since its WRC return in 2021.

“It is the only rally that we drive in the middle of wildlife. It’s also something unique. It’s a tough event and the only place you’ll find the thick volcanic fesh fesh dust.

And it’s sincerely hot as compared to Europe, and when it turns to mud, it can get even tougher,” he admits.

The reigning silver medalist continues, “The Safari is quite intense, and for the team to come to Kenya, we are not allowed to test here, which adds to the challenge.

I think apart from Turkey, the only other place where we anticipate a tougher and rougher challenge would be in Saudi, where the country is making its WRC debut.”

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The Frenchman racked up a maiden career Rally1 podium in the 2024 Rally Sweden before finishing behind “Flying Finn” Kalle Rovanperä and Japanese speedster Takamoto Katsuta in the Safari.

“It’s a great pleasure coming back to Kenya where I got my second podium in a Fiesta; which was such a surreal experience for my team then (M-Sport), as it was their first one too on Safari in recent times.

This year, I am back in a Hyundai, so we will try our best to replicate the same or even better if we can. As a team, we need to get the best result to leverage on manufacturers’ points.

We know it’s not always a walk in the park in Kenya, but we will try to stay away from trouble," he added.

Between 2017 and 2020, Fourmaux rose from a second-tier race driver to a Rally 1 star. He is keen to follow in the footsteps of his compatriots, Sebastian Ogier and Loeb, who are the world’s most accomplished rally drivers.

“It was quite a quick and short career to go at the top level, as I was in school studying to be a doctor. But I always loved the roar of race machines and driving them, and the rest is history.

It was time to turn the page. When I was young I used to keenly follow the Sebs and competing with Loeb in 2022 and Ogier in 2021 was something special for me as they were my idols, so it’s been good to be up against them, and now I want to beat them. It’s quite interesting,” said Fourmaux.

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Additional reporting by Safarirally.ke