Following a bit of an up-and-down 2023, the M-Sport Ford World Championship Rally (WRC) team entered the 2024 season with quite a few changes, ranging from new liveries for its Puma Rally1 racers to a shakeup in its driver lineup. Those changes were highlighted by the departure of highly-successful Estonian racer Ott Tänak, along with the both Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster moving up to the full WRC schedule after spending 2023 in the Rally1 and WRC2 ranks. Turns out, those tweaks paid off at this past weekend’s Rally Sweden, as Fourmaux followed up his first career WRC win last season in the RC2 class with a podium finish this time around.
Fourmaux and M-Sport Ford co-driver Alexandre Coria piloted their Puma Rally1 racer to a near flawless performance in Sweden, posting strong stage times and avoiding any sort of tire issues, even amid degrading road conditions throughout the weekend. The duo wound up recording a third-place finish by the time it was all over, which is notable given the fact it was just Fourmaux’s fourth time racing on snow and ice.
“Really great to get my first podium at the top level in Sweden, my fourth rally on snow and the second of the 2024 season,” Fourmaux said after the race. “We are now third in the championship, which is really positive and gives a lot of confidence and motivation to the whole team who have been working really hard. We can be really proud that we’re working all together, and it’s been working perfectly. We want now to just enjoy the podium, it’s been brilliant, and hopefully there are more podiums coming!”
“This has been such a special event for the whole team,” added M-Sport Ford Managing Director Malcolm Wilson. “The message to Adrien today was clear – bring home the podium result! He continued to show great maturity, driving sensibly through the stages to secure a very well deserved third place. I have been so impressed by his mentality and confidence this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing what else he can achieve with us this year now this career milestone has been reached.”
We’ll have more on M-Sport Ford soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news and comprehensive Ford news coverage.
Comment
That track looks like so much [bleeping] fun blasting through the snow.