Latest news with #M-SportFord
Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
I know where my car shines on fast rallies... now it's up to me to commit more and lift bar: Josh McErlean
The M-Sport Ford points-scorer made 10th place his own for much of the Tartu-based meeting before gaining a spot prior to the end-of-rally Power Stage when Takamoto Katsuta retired. A solid weekend's work was capped off by Kilrea man McErlean once again getting the better of the more experienced Gregoire Munster in the second of the three works-supported Pumas. The only blot in his copybook came on Saturday's 10.9-mile 'Kanepi' test when the 26-year-old failed to scrub off enough speed as he approached a junction and went off the road into a ditch. Thankfully, quick-thinking – and a heavy right foot – spared his blushes. 'It was a super-fast rally and really enjoyable to drive, and okay, although we were cleaning the road for most of it on the Saturday and Sunday, we now have our brain dialled into these fast roads, how the car works and how and where we can commit,' said McErlean, who now turns his attention to Rally Finland, which will run from July 31 to August 3. 'I think overall, we can be happy with our pace compared to Gregoire, and we now have a quick turnaround for the next round in Finland where we hope we can step it up again. 'We have the experience now – we have done a fast rally in a Rally1 car – so it is all good preparation. 'We did not make any big mistakes, which is good, and that will only help our confidence going to Finland – a place where, if you are low on confidence, it is not ideal. The feeling is okay. Now, we just have to start committing more and trusting the process.' McErlean hopes his performance in the Baltic state over the course of the gravel test is a sign he has got his maiden Rally1 campaign back on track after consecutive opening-day retirements at Rally Italia Sardegna and Acropolis Rally Greece respectively. 'It was nice to settle down a bit after the last two rallies where a couple of mistakes kept us out of the points. It is definitely nice to make it to the finish here in Estonia,' he added. Oliver Solberg, on his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 debut, stunned the WRC with a sensational victory. Despite only being notified of the drive a fortnight previously – and having had the benefit of limited pre-event testing – the 23-year-old secured a breakthrough win by 25.2 seconds.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy up to 10th after first leg of Delfi Rally Estonia
Having finished Thursday night's opener in Delfi Rally Estonia - round eight of the World Rally Championship - in thirteenth place, Josh McErlean declared: "You need big commitment in this rally." During Friday's seven high speed stages the Kilrea driver and his Killeagh co-driver Eoin Treacy showed good form and ended the first leg in tenth place. It was a spectacular day for Swedish ace Oliver Solberg, back behind the wheel of a Rally1 car for the first time in almost three years, the 23-year old, onboard the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, leads the way - 12.4s ahead of home hero Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) with reigning World champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) just 1.2s further behind in third. Solberg, a regular WRC2 competitor took his maiden WR stage win on the morning opener (SS2) to move into a 5.3s, he was also quickest on the repeat stage and held an 8.5s lead over Tanak at service. With a beaming smile, he enthused: "It's the best car I have ever driven. I am just enjoying and if I need to back off, I will back off, but so far I am just building up step by step.' Surprisingly Tanak, who was best on SS3 and SS5, opined that he struggled for confidence. McErlean had a trio of top ten stage times and held ninth and the top M-Sport Ford driver. Fourmaux, Solberg and Neuville took stage wins during the afternoon where McErlean admitted that one of the ruts almost took the steering wheel from his hands. As he gained in confidence, his commitment levels also increased, however, he couldn't prevent team mate Martin Sesks from leapfrogging him into ninth. Winning the unofficial "drift" competition at the roundabout on the day's final but shortest stage, McErlean said: "We were chatting about it at the start of the stage, I channelled my inner Conor Shanahan from the Red Bull Event (Spike Island), at least we have won something today." On a more serious note, he added: "It's been good, we are not that far away from Martins (Sesks). It's more about the feeling and the confidence in the car. I think we can improve a lot still, it's just trusting that last bit with the pacenotes and the feeling. "Yeah, a lot more to come from me and Eoin rather than the car." Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gr Yaris Ral1y1) had a tough day running first on the road and sweeping the loose gravel, he ended the day in seventh. There are nine stages today (Saturday) and three on Sunday. Delfi Rally Estonia (Round 8, World Rally Championship) Tartu 1. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)1h. 06m. 33.4s 2. O. Tänak/M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+12.4s 3. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+14.2s 4. K. Rovanperä/ J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+20.1s 5. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+ 29.8s 6. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+30.0s 7. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+41.4s 8. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 05.1s 9. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+1m. 11.4s 10. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+1m. 30.0s.
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Liam Lawson tries his hand at rallying
New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson. Photo: Eric Alonso / PHOTOSPORT New Zealand Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson has tried his hand at rallying. In a non-F1 weekend the 23-year-old Kiwi is involved in the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England . Of the F1 teams nine are in attendance, with Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto among the current F1 drivers taking part. Lawson is driving Red Bull's RB7 car that was used during the 2011 Formula 1 season up the challenging Goodwood Hill. However on Friday he got behind the wheel of an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car of Irish driver Josh McErlean to take on the forest rally stage at the event. McErlean was his co-driver as he made a number of runs. "Growing up in New Zealand, rally is very popular," Lawson told "I've never had the chance [to drive one], so I was very nervous to jump straight in this car. But it was such an incredible experience." "I was battling, hitting a couple of banks and things and trying to keep the thing straight. Probably too straight, to be honest!" However McErlean was impressed with Lawson's handling of the car "To jump into this car for the first time, to even drive it, to know where you're pulling gears, to know where the handbrake is, it's a daunting experience to jump into any rally car. "His times were seriously close on the last run," McErlean said. After competing at Goodwood, Lawson will return to F1 later this month at the Belgium Grand Prix. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RTÉ News
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Ott Tanak wins Acropolis Rally with Ireland's Josh McErlean 12th
Estonian Ott Tanak took Hyundai's first win of the season in Greece's Acropolis Rally on Sunday despite a gearbox scare in the final stage, with Ireland's Josh McErlean finishing 12th overall. The victory on the rough gravel roads and in sweltering heat also ended Toyota's unbeaten run with Sebastien Ogier, winner of the previous two rounds, finishing second and 32.8 seconds behind. Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux completed the podium. Tanak closed the gap on Toyota's championship leader Elfyn Evans, who finished fourth, to 12 points. Ogier, who is running a part-time campaign, is nine points behind his teammate. "I was very worried, to be honest," Tanak said of the final gearbox drama. "In the last stage, third gear got very noisy and I understood that this one broke. "Soon, the whole gearbox got very noisy and we didn't have much confidence that we would finish the stage and get back here. It was definitely far too much stress to win a rally." Meanwhile, Derry native McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy brought a tricky weekend to a conclusion with a 12th-place finish in their M-Sport Ford.
Straits Times
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
Rallying-Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures Hyundai's Ott Tanak ended the first full day of the Acropolis Rally with a slender three second lead over teammate Adrien Fourmaux as the Greek heat and rough roads left rivals struggling to keep up. Tanak stayed out of trouble to lead on Friday night despite not winning any of the seven gravel stages in temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. "At times it was difficult to keep everything in one piece but I think in the end we must be happy that we didn't have any big trouble with the tyres or with the car," said the Estonian. Hyundai's reigning champion and last year's Acropolis winner Thierry Neuville led after stage three but then dropped three minutes after collecting two punctures, before taking the day's final stage to end the day eighth. Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanpera also lost time with tyre problems. Teammate and eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier was in third place, 16.9 seconds behind Tanak after leading up to stage five, and won two stages to Fourmaux's three. The Frenchman's championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans was fourth and Gregoire Munster fifth for M-Sport Ford. Katsuta and Rovanpera were sixth and seventh. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
