Hyundai Motorsport gives an explanation behind its decision to withdraw Adrien Fourmaux's car before the final stop control of Rally Paraguay.
The Frenchman won two stages at Rally Paraguay and was among the drivers who fought for the lead. He stole Kalle Rovanpera's lead at the end of Friday morning and was leading the Rally Paraguay 2025 from Stage 3 to 6 despite his puncture in SS6. However, he lost one position in Stage 7 due to a front right puncture, but he was second overall from Stage 14 to 18. He and Sebastien Ogier were fighting for the lead of Rally Paraguay, but Fourmaux lost many seconds in Stage 16 after an overshoot. In addition to that, he slowed down after a water splash in Stage 18 resulting in losing his advantage over the following drivers on the classification (Elfyn Evans, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak). Eventually, he slipped behind Evans and Neuville on the classification at the end of Powerstage which means that he secured a top four finish in Paraguay. However, Hyundai Motorsport decided to retire his car before the final stop control which meant that Ott Tanak finished fourth and gained two more points for his title battle with the Toyota drivers.
"There is no denying that this has been a difficult rally for us, with a lot of ups and downs", Francois-Xavier Demaison stated.
"The results do not reflect the performance of our car this weekend, but our crews have clearly struggled with setup and other mechanical issues, as well as punctures.
"Because of this, we decided to retire Adrien’s car to have more freedom in our setup options for Rally Chile".
Photo Credits: Hyundai
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