Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux was delighted to end his season with plenty of pace and another podium at last week’s FORUM8 Rally Japan.
The Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid led the Toyota City-based event after the opening stage on Thursday night and Fourmaux was never far from the sharp end for the following three full days of competition.
“From Saturday morning it was a really nice fight with Takamoto Katsuta and Séb Ogier,” he said. “As we expected, it’s been a really challenging rally with really tricky conditions from the beginning.”
Fourmaux was the master of those conditions, edging local hero Katsuta, while following eight-time world champion and second-placed Ogier home.
“It’s been really nice to end the season with another podium,” he said. “It’s my first podium on Tarmac with the Puma. It’s been a really great season for us. We always want more that’s for sure, but still we have some really nice positive results so it’s been good for my comeback to Rally1.”
Fourmaux was quick to pay tribute to the British team which offered him a second chance on the WRC’s main stage this season.
He added: “Thanks to everyone at M-Sport for the season, there’s been really great commitment from everybody and we’ve had a great feeling from the start. Alex [Coria, co-driver] and I really appreciate the hard work from everyone.”