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    Fourmaux believes he can win Monte Carlo Rally

    1 day ago

    Improved pace en route to victory on Dévoluy warm-up has given Hyundai driver belief ahead of 2026 season-openerPhotography by HyundaiWords by David Evans, DirtFish Head of MediaIt was the throwaway question. The obvious one. Adrien Fourmaux’s a very intelligent guy. He wasn’t going to take the bait.In the end, his answer gave me goosebumps.We’d had the chat. Our Monday morning post-Dévoluy debrief was just about done, save for one question about the potential for winning the Monte Carlo Rally next month.The Hyundai driver gave the question some thought, then he thought some more. Then, very quietly, he replied: “I really start to believe in it, yes. With the improvement I have seen, I really feel that we can really fight for it.”Sure, there was some emotion in there – he’s French and we’re talking about Monte Carlo – but there was nothing brash, nothing brazen about what Fourmaux was saying. His were simple, straightforward, science-based sentences.The improvement he’s talking about, it’s there in black and white in terms of a time comparison between this year’s Rallye National Hivernal du Dévoluy and the 2024 edition. Sure, the roads north of Sisteron and west of Gap were in slightly different shape grip-wise, but for Fourmaux this was the strongest indication yet that the i20 N Rally1 is coming more and more under his control on Tarmac.There's no hyperbole about Fourmaux's belief that he - and his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 - can win the Monte“We needed to work on this car,” Fourmaux told DirtFish. We lost too much time in the tricky conditions in Japan, but also in Central Europe especially. We needed to do a step and, from last weekend, it looks quite positive.”The Hyundai’s tendency to search the road for grip on asphalt has become increasingly obvious on Tarmac. Squaring that circle, via geometry tweaks and a switch away from the suspension used on last year’s hybrid car, could be the key to round one success for Fourmaux.“We probably need a joker,” he said, “and, of course, the team needs to decide on it, but we definitely made a step. The car feels cleaner, it’s not searching the road. When we did our test on Wednesday, we took the road which was quite extreme. It was a proper tricky stage with bumps, low grip, black top and it was raining nearly all of the day. It was the worst conditions for the car – that’s what we were looking for.“We knew if we could drive the car on this extreme [road] then it should be a little bit easier for the rally – and that showed in the times.”Remembering the context of differing conditions, the times were mighty in places. Across a route which was five miles shorter, Fourmaux was 14 minutes quicker.Dévoluy offered a mix of conditions last weekend - and Fourmaux had upper hand over Toyota rival Solberg“We just killed the times that we’ve done last year,” he said. “It’s crazy. So in some stages it makes sense because last year there was some ice and there was no ice anymore [last weekend], but in some stages it was similar conditions. Like I said, honestly, this is a step.”Fourmaux won six of the event’s 10 stages, conceding four to Toyota’s Oliver Solberg. Interestingly, he beat the Swede by 14.7 seconds, having edged Kalle Rovanperä’s GR Yaris Rally1 into the runners-up spot by 15.5s 12 months ago.Last year, Fourmaux was cautious with his optimism. This time around? You can’t wipe that smile.Back to the more hushed tones, he’s thinking again.“If we can win Monte from where we were in Central Europe… that’s a proper story.”And Fourmaux’s showing himself to be one very talented storyteller.Words:David Evans Tags: Adrien Fourmaux, Monte Carlo Rally, Monte Carlo Rally 2026, Rallye National du Devoluy, WRC, WRC 2026 Publish Date December 9, 2025 DirtFish https://dirtfish-editorial.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/2025/12/mBbT9GNA-2025DEVOLUY_HEM_011-780x520.jpg December 9, 2025 Up Next
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