My wet and wild passenger ride in full-blown 500bhp M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 with Irish WRC driver Josh McErlean
Sometimes I'd be driving myself behind the wheel of a BMW M car or something else fast like a Honda Civic Type R, and more recently an Audi R8 supercar.
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I've also sat shotgun in the passenger seat with some of Mondello's professional racing drivers as they show you exactly how you should be charging one of their cars around the track.
I've even sat with Formula 2 star Alex Dunne as he effortlessly piloted a Porsche Boxster around the course at breakneck speeds.
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WRC WILD RIDE: Returning back to the pits with WRC driver Josh McErlean after two laps around the Mondello Park track
Credit: Colm Lawless
But a couple of weeks ago I ticked another box off the bucket list as I got to experience the full force of a full-blown FIA World Rally Championship car.
The car in question was the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car that was at Mondello as
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I was invited along by my friends Red Bull Ireland as part of the media and got to meet and interview M-Sport's new Irish WRC duo, driver Josh McErlean and his co-pilot Eoin Treacy.
But the Puma Rally1 wasn't just there as a centre piece for the J1000 Development Day — Josh was also doing passenger runs around a very wet Mondello Park.
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DREAM TEAM: M-Sport Ford WRC drivers Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy
Credit: Darren Liggett
Key Facts:
M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1
Cost:
€1m estimate
Engine:
1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo, plus 100kW electric motor
Power:
500bhp
Torque:
500Nm
0-100kph:
3.2 seconds
Brakes:
Brembo four-pistons
Gearbox:
5-speed sequential
Weight:
1.260kg (Without crew)
The weather was in complete contrast to this week's amazing sunshine but, to be honest, the very slippy conditions and wet track turned the passenger run experience up to the max.
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The Puma Rally1 is an absolute beast of a machine.
Most read in Motors
Sitting on a purpose-built space frame chassis, it's powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo and it uses a 100kW electric motor to boost the power up to 500bhp and 500Nm of torque.
The car only weighs 1,260kg so power to weight really comes into play, and the Puma uses a clever all-wheel drive system with mechanical front and rear limited slip diffs and a 50-50 torque split.
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DREAM MACHINE: First time the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally 1 has been in Ireland
Credit: Darren Liggett
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So all of that means the grip is sensational and it will blitz 0-100kph in around three seconds on any surface.
The Kilrea driver was killing it, manhandling the Puma like it was a toy, throwing it into corners and, on many occasions, I thought the car would spin out as we were literally doing backward entry drifts.
But the Puma's power and grip from the front wheels would pull us straight again as Josh danced on the pedals and slammed through the gears down another straight.
Then he was hard on the brakes for more sideways shenanigans that would score him top marks in a Drift Masters qualifying session.
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LAP OF HONOUR: Media and rally fans patiently wait for a passenger run in WRC Puma
Credit: Darren Liggett
I also managed a few minutes with Josh and Eoin for a quick Q&A and here are the results:
Josh McErlean Q&A:
Q:
You learned to drive in Northern Ireland in a right hand drive, but now you rally in a left-hand drive car. What side of the car are you more comfortable in now?
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A:
All the car I rally in are built in Europe so they are left hand drive, but when I started when I was 17 in a left-hand drive rally car. I do drive a right-hand drive road car at the minute but it's still strange when I land back into Dublin airport and then you're driving on the wrong side of the road.
Q:
How was the experience transitioning from a WRC2 to a WRC1 car?
A:
Initially it's the power and the downforce with the extra aerodymanics that the car has and that improves the challenge. OK, you can drive the car, but trying to drive it fast, that's the next step. Monte Carlo was a big challenge, going into the rally with limited experience, there was snow and ice and everything thrown at you. It's been a whirlwind honestly since December, we didn't even know if this was going to happen, it came on quite suddenly, so it's been a quick learning curve. But the M-Sport Team has done an incredible job brigning us up to speed.
Q:
What has been your favourite rally out of the 2025 season so far?
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A:
Sweden purely because driving the car in the snow is a mindshift compared to everything else. The studded tyres and the grip is quite mind blowing. We actually had good rhythm setting top times but on Sunday moring we ended up in a snow back and had to dig ourselves out.
Q:
What was the toughest WRC rally?
A:
From a physically demanding side, it was Kenya, but mentally Id say Monte Carlo as the pressure was on stepping up from WRC2 to WRC1.
Q:
Is the M-Sport Puma the best rally car you've ever driven?
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A:
Without a doubt, it's something else and to be in it for a full year in WRC is incrdible.
Q:
And how are things going with M-Sport are you paet of the family now and settling in well?
A:
Everyone thinks M-Sport is afamily team and that's exactly what we get out of it. The whole team have been so welcoming so it such a nice team to be in.
Q:
Who is your rally hero?
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A:
Sebastien Loeb
Q:
What is your favourite rally car of al time?
A:
The Puma of course but it would have been something else to have driven any of the 2017 rally cars.
Q:
After my two, mostly sideways hot laps with you around Mondello I was wondering if you've ever thought of doing a Kalle Rovanperä and entering a few Drift Masters rounds?
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A:
It's quite east to drive this car like that , I relate it to a PlayStation game as that's what it feels like. But if the oppertunity ever came out to try out Conor Shanahan's drift car I'd be up for it.
Q:
Now you are a Red Bull Athlete, what is your favourite Red Bull Drink?
A:
Tropical is nice but I'm still an original flavour man.
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DYNAMIC DUO: Irish M-Sport Ford drivers, Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy
Credit: M-Sport
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Eoin Treacy Q&A:
Q:
What was the step up from WRC2 car to a WRC1 car like?
A:
It was a big step up, the biggest thing was the change in pace because you are moving so fast in the cars now your breaking distances are shorter so it really changes how you call notes.
Q:
Can you still expereince the sensation of speed in the WRC car even though you are so focussed on your pace notes and everything else going on inside the car?
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A:
You do feel the speed, but if you do a run in the car without reading notes it really hits you then.
Q:
Has it always been pacenotes for yourself or have you ever thought of being a driver?
A:
Always notes, but once a year I do a rally sprint.
Q:
What is your favourite WRC rally this year?
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A:
I loved every single one, Monte Carlo was so iconic. Kenya is so wild and it's a classic becuase its a safari. But the feeling of snow in Sweden was special, it was my first time on snow and to travel at that speed in a car like that is remarkable.
Q:
So what was the toughest WRC rally?
A:
Kenya for sure, but the most fun was Sweden.
Q:
Is the Puma the best rally car you've been in?
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A:
Yes for sure, its Rally1, the top of the FAI pyramid, it;s insane, just what the cars can do, it's constantily amazing.
Q:
What is your favourite rally car ever?
A:
Citroen Xsara WRC, watching Leob dominate in one, but closer to home its a Toyota Corolla AE86 Twin Cam.
Q:
You are 6 foot 5 inches tall, did the Puma's seat have to be lowered in anyway to allow you to fit in when wearing a helmet?
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A:
Ha, no, these modern cars have a lot of headroom.
Q:
Rally hero?
A:
Sebastien Loeb.
Read more on the Irish Sun
Q:
What is your favourite Red Bull Drink?
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A:
Original or Watermellon.
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