Adrien Fourmaux’s roller-coaster Friday at Rally Saudi Arabia ended in heartbreak as the Hyundai driver lost the rally lead not on the stages, but in the time control — after being checked in one minute early to the final control of the day.
What had already been a chaotic desert battle turned even more dramatic as Fourmaux saw his entire day unravel in one administrative misstep.
From Suspension Trouble to Dust Drama to a Puncture Fightback
Fourmaux began Friday with the rally lead, only to see it shrink after the rear suspension arm on his Hyundai failed.
The day deteriorated further on the penultimate stage, when trailing the dust cloud of Sami Pajari, Fourmaux misjudged a junction and lost the lead to Mãrtiņš Sesks.
But the twists kept coming.
On SS14, Fourmaux suffered a front-left puncture—yet despite the blow, he still managed to reclaim first place when Sesks picked up a puncture of his own.
By the final stop of the day, Fourmaux was back on top with a 2.4-second margin over Sesks.
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A One-Minute Error That Costs a Rally Lead
Then came the decisive moment:
Fourmaux’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 was confirmed one minute early into TC14A, triggering a one-minute penalty for Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria.
The penalty was brutal in its impact. Fourmaux fell from first to fourth overall, now 57.6 seconds off the top.
Sesks Takes Over — Neuville Now the Closest Threat
With Fourmaux tumbling down the order, Mãrtiņš Sesks inherits the overnight lead.
His advantage is slim — 3.4 seconds over Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville — but it is enough to end a turbulent day at the front.
Meanwhile, Takamoto Katsuta moves into third, capitalizing on the chaos to secure a provisional podium position heading into Saturday.
