Fourmaux edges Rovanperä in Monte Carlo preparation rally

Adrien Fourmaux took his first competitive victory for Hyundai by defeating Toyota’s Calle Rovanperä at the Rallye National Hivernal du Devoluy.

Hyundai and Toyota opted to field Fourmaux and Rovanperä in the French rally to begin preparation of their drivers for the 2025 World Rally Championship season opener next month in Monte Carlo.

The 10-stage asphalt rally also provided the opportunity to test the all-new Hankook Control tires and non-hybrid versions of the GR Yaris and i20 N Rally1 cars.

This was the first rally of Formox after i20 Completing the move from M-Sport-Ford to joining the Korean marque earlier this month,

Fourmaux won by 15.5 seconds from Rovanperä, while the Citroën C3 Rally2 driven by former sportscar racer Jonathan Hirschi finished third by 6 minutes 02.9 seconds.

Fourmaux managed to overcome difficult snowy conditions to advance in the rally after stage two, La Bachasset 1 (24.21 km).

Two-time world champion Rovanperä won the next two stages to come within 16 seconds of the Frenchman at the end of Saturday’s opening stage.

But through stage five (Les Gaillardes, 13.65 km) Fourmoux was 6.3 seconds faster than Rovanperä and extended the lead to 22.3 seconds. The advantage increased to 26 seconds after stage seven.

Rovanperä claimed the next two stages to set up a thrilling climax, as only 9.5 seconds separated the pair in the final stage. However, Fourmaux won the final stage by six seconds from Rovanperä.

The annual WRC curtain raiser will be held in Monte Carlo on January 23-26.