Fined: Adrien Fourmaux and his co-driver Alexandre Coria in action at Rally Sweden

Umeå (Sweden) (AFP) - French driver Adrien Fourmaux fell victim to the controversial crackdown on swearing in motorsport on Sunday when he was fined 10,000 euros for a foul-mouthed outburst at Rally Sweden.

The Hyundai driver was also fined a further 20,000 euros, suspended for 12 months, after using a four-letter word in a live TV broadcast.

He was venting his frustrations after his exit from the race on Saturday night following a collision with a snowbank.

“I’d like to apologise about the words I had at the end of the last stage. It’s been an intense weekend, very exhausting and merciless physically and mentally for all of us,” Fourmaux, 29, wrote on X.

In the stewards’ report, Fourmaux explained “he used the words in a colloquial and descriptive way, in the sense that he had made a mistake”.

“He did not mean to offend or insult anyone by using those words.”

Fourmaux briefly rejoined the race on Sunday in an attempt to score points in the power stage.

He was eventually classified as 21st overall in a rally won by Welshman Elfyn Evans in a Toyota.