M-Sport Ford announced today that Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster will drive for the team at the top level of World Rally Championship next year.
The Malcolm Wilson's team will once again bring two Rally1 cars at the main WRC category, but this time Fourmaux and Munster will be the representative drivers of the blue oval instead of Ott Tanak and Pierre-Louis Loubet. Fourmaux dropped to WRC2 class for 2023, as he did not deliver the results that M-Sport Ford hoped in 2022, but he managed to become the first French driver, who won the British championship in 2023, and was the top RC2 driver at Central European Rally two months ago. On the other hand, Munster participated in three different WRC categories this season and made his debut at the top level at Rally Chile while CER was his latest event with the Puma. Finally, it must be mentioned that Fourmaux returned back to the wheel of the Puma at Rally Japan after a year, but he went off the road and was not able to restart under the Super Rally regulations.
"I’m very happy to be back in Rally1 for 2024", Fourmaux said.
"Achieving this drive was the main goal of the 2023 season and I’m thrilled to return for a full season in the Puma next year.
"I’m grateful to M-Sport, Ford and Red Bull for having the confidence and trust in me to give me another year at the top level and allow me to show my capabilities.
"I’ve enjoyed being part of the development of the Fiesta Rally2 in 2023, and I think this will help me for the upcoming season with the Rally1 car.
"It will be a very interesting season for everybody, especially with the new regulations and points system.
"We’ve got a proper plan to work hard and deliver the best results we can, to support the team and get it back to where it deserves to be.
"I’m also very proud to be the the only French driver competing the full season at the top level of WRC!".
Moreover, Munster stated: "Driving almost the full season in WRC2 in 2023 has been a big positive, it’s the first time I had the chance to do nearly all the WRC events and get the mileage.
"The two drives in the Puma has helped me a lot with getting prepared for the Rally1 drive in 2024.
"Working within the M-Sport team has also been incredibly useful, you see the WRC2 and Rally1 team all within the same structure, so it’s good preparation for Rally1 to feel familiar and at home!
"I’m eager to start in Monte-Carlo, and the goal for 2024 will be first to get some good results and increase the pace rally after rally, try not to make any mistakes and just get all the experience.
"We’re driving against world champions, so it will be a big challenge but I’m really looking forward to it".
Finally, Richard Millener said: "2024 will see us take a new and different approach compared to the last 12 months.
"Developing and helping young talent prove themselves is an exciting way to tackle a WRC season, and with several of the top drivers not competing across the full championship we have opportunities to put in some strong and surprising performances.
"We still have all the ingredients to deliver results and the team is motivated to start again in a few weeks’ time with an almost blank paper on what we can achieve.
"Adrien, Alex, Gregoire and Louis are all great guys who possess a lot of determination and motivation.
"A young team can create great energy and great things can come from that so I cannot wait to start working with them all again to show what we know we can achieve".
Photo Credits: M-Sport
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