M-Sport Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux says he will approach the last two days of the iconic WRC Safari Rally Kenya with extra caution.
“We will have to be smart enough in some places. We will have to slow down just to pass some rocky places and then go flat out in some sections to make time,” said Fourmaux, who is driving a Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid.
The Frenchman won the British Rally Championship in 2023 in the Ford Fiesta Rally2 as well as competed in the WRC2 Championship for the 2023 season.
Kedong and Sleeping Warrior have always proved a big challenge for the World Rally Team but Fourmaux says they have done their homework well this time round.
Fourmaux, who achieved his first WRC podium at the 2024 Rally Sweden last month, said: “Safari Rally is a big challenge to all the drivers. It’s a bit rough and very long but special and unique from other rallies due to its provocative terrains. It’s a long rally and we always love that,” he said.
M-Sport has yet to win the coveted Safari title since the return of World Rally Championship (WRC) status in Kenya in 2021.
The 29-year-old Frenchman got a shot in the arm this week when giant telco, Safaricom announced a Sh20 million deal that will see Fourmaux become Safaricom’s M-pesa Global International Money Transfer service ambassador.
His sponsorship deal with Safaricom will allow his Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 to display the M-PESA branding for the Safari Rally in Kenya, while his overalls will carry the branding for the rest of the season.
Richard Millener, the M-Sport Ford team principal said: “Coming on board through M-PESA to collaborate with us and going beyond the Kenyan border to support one of our drivers is something that warms our hearts greatly,”
Part of this sponsorship, Sh5 million in cash, has gone towards supporting Kenya’s 2023 Junior WRC contender and reigning African Junior champion, Hamza Anwar, in the WRC3 category, driving a Rally 3 Ford Fiesta.
The sponsorship deal will also see Anwar’s rally car installed with a telematic gadget, a Smart Vehicle Tracking System, to help Safaricom showcase its IoT (Internet of Things) powered Telematics solution available to the telco’s Enterprise customers for fleet management.
The technology integrates with the vehicle’s on-board computer and collects information on several parameters that are accumulated and recorded at the end and start of each trip. This provides insights into journey duration, vehicle speed, route information, fuel consumption and driver behaviour.
