Latest news with #M-SportFordPumaRally1
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- RTÉ News
Josh McErlean relishing Sardinian WRC test
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean is in action at the Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend for round six of the World Rally Championship and determined to continue his upward trajectory behind the wheel of his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1. McErlean, who was a WRC2 driver, was a surprise choice to compete for the full M-Sport Ford World Rally Team this year. His chance though came when Frenchman Adrian Formaux quit the M-Sport team to move to Hyundai this season and the British team decided to go with a younger, less experienced three-driver line-up, which included Derryman McErlean. So far the Irish driver has been in the points, his best result a fine seventh place in the opening Monte Carlo Rally, while McErlean finished eighth in the last round in Portugal. The 25-year-old driver from Kilrea was M-Sport's top points scorer during the weekend in Portugal. That momentum will be key on the Italian island's punishing stages, which includes Micky's Jump as part of the Lerno–Su Filigosu stage, one of the most famous jumps in world rallying. Last year's event saw the the joint-closest WRC finish in history, when Ott Tanak beat Sebastien Ogier to victory by two-tenths of a second. The event is held on narrow gravel tracks, which cut through mountainous forests, pushing drivers and machinery to the limit. Sardinia's abrasive gravel also gives it one of the highest tyre-wear rates in the whole season. "Sardinia is one of the toughest rallies on the calendar, no question," said McErlean, who went on to finish fourth fastest in the shakedown. "There's no room for error here – it's narrow, rough, and can catch you out at any second. "But after the positive result in Portugal, I feel we're progressing in the right direction. "We're learning more about the Puma on gravel with every kilometre, and this weekend will be another big step for us." The event opens with a ceremonial start in Olbia before two loops on Friday through Gallura's gritty, technical stages. Saturday will provide the ultimate test, featuring the infamous Lerno–Su Filigosu test. Sunday's action rounds off with a mix of returning classics and a new power stage on the coast at Porto San Paolo. "You have to learn to love this rally, you can't fight it, or it will bite you back", added McErlean. "It's a real test for both car and crew, and that's exactly what makes it so rewarding. We had a positive run in Portugal, and the goal is to carry that rhythm into this weekend." Meanwhile, two days of motor racing action lie ahead for race fans at Mondello Park this weekend as the second round of the ICCR series approaches. The Siltex Safety Zetec Fiestas once again have the largest grids and with a win apiece so far in 2025, Sean McGovern and Alan Dawson will be keen to take the top step of the podium once again. Formula Ford returns to the Kildare venue ahead of the Historic Festival in August and despite a relatively small entry list, all the big FF1600 names are there. Jason Smyth and Morgan Quinn are looking forward to a return to Irish tarmac and, having taken plenty of wins between them across the water, won't be here to make up numbers. Stephen O'Connor is fast, if a touch erratic, but could spring a surprise against the younger opposition if the planets align. BOSS Ireland is back at Mondello too, and all eyes will be on Limerick's Paul Having done most of his racing abroad recently, he brings his 590bhp Dallara World Series to Mondello Park. He was have to tackle the nimble F3 cars of reigning champion Tony Greenan and Noel Robinson. It's a battle of the V8s in the HRCA Historics as Jackie Cochrane's 5.0 Sunbeam Tiger fights off the similarly powered Ginetta G10 of son-in-law Gareth Thompson.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Josh McErlean hoping to conquer 'rough and relentless' Rally Sardinia alongside Eoin Treacy
The "Italian Job" awaits for the Irish pairing of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy onboard their M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 as they tackle Rally Italia Sardegna, the sixth round of the World Rally Championship that is set to be hot, both in pace and weather. Buoyed by their performance in the most recent round in Portugal, the faster and tighter stages on the island's north eastern coast will provide yet another challenge as they become more familiar with their Rally1 car. For Kilrea's McErlean, it will be a fourth time competing on this infamous event, last year in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, he punched in eight top-five stage times in the WRC2 category and knows what to expect over the three days. "Rally Sardinia is one of the toughest events on the European calendar - rough, technical and relentless. But you have to learn to love this rally. It's a real test for both car and crew, and that's exactly what makes it so rewarding. We had a positive run in Portugal and the goal is to carry that rhythm into this weekend." Indeed, another positive from Portugal was the fact that McErlean and Killeagh's Eoin Treacy were the top M-Sport crew, that prompted McErlean to add, "I feel we're progressing in the right direction. We're learning more about the Puma on gravel with every kilometre and this weekend will be another big step for us." Based Olbia, it's one of the most demanding of the 14-event WR schedule. Sixteen stages totalling some 320 kilometres of competitive action through the hills and coastline is a supreme test of both man and machine. M-Sport, who have yet to secure a podium finish in the current campaign, have a four-man team with Gregoire Munster, Martins Sesks and Jourdan Serderidis steering the other Puma Rally1 cars. Having played second fiddle to the Toyota Gazoo Racing outfit so far, Sardinia offers the Hyundai outfit some mid-season redemption with Ott Tanak aiming to repeat his 2024 victory in Sardinia where he finished just 0.2s ahead of Sebastien Ogier. In Portugal a few weeks ago the pair had a great battle until a power steering issue for Tanak handed the win to Ogier. This latest showdown is unfinished business from both their perspectives. "Sardinia is another super punishing event." said Tanak, who added, "At first, it can look smooth and sandy, but the roads normally develop quickly. We can suddenly find solid rocks sticking out from the ground, which will make life hard for both the car and tyres. We know our car is not easy to find good setup for different surfaces, but in the past we have done well in Sardegna. Hopefully, we have done our homework and we are going to be on the pace from the start." His team mate and reigning WR champion Thierry Neuville was somewhat more direct. "We need to be consistently fast and there's no room for mistakes, so we will be pushing across every stage. I want to be fighting for the win, so I need to finish ahead of my main championship rivals." Tanak is thirty-four points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) and should, along with his team mates Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux (fifth and seventh respectively) benefit from strong road positions on today's (Friday) six stages. Of course Evans has the onerous task of sweeping the loose gravel from the tracks and that will cost him valuable time and is likely to be a damage limitation exercise for the Welshman. His team mate Kalle Rovanpera, second in the series, will be aiming to cut into Evans' 30-point advantage. The Toyota presence is completed by Takamoto Katsuta (with his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnson) and Sami Pajari. Cavan co-driver James Fulton calls the notes for Japan's Yuki Yamamoto (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2). Meanwhile, Killarney's Colin O'Donoghue (Ford Escort) is the top seed for Sunday's Laois Heartlands Rally, a six stage event that is headquartered in Stradbally. Opposition includes Scotland's David Bogie (Ford Escort), Donegal's Kevin Gallagher and Wexford's James Stafford both in Darrian T90 GTR's and the Monaghan duo of David Moffett and Richard Moffett in a pair of Toyota Starlets.
Irish Examiner
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Ireland's top drifters to go head-to-head on Spike Island
The iconic Spike Island in Cork Harbour is set to be a lock-out on Saturday July 5th next when it will reverberate to the sounds of race and rally cars of Red Bull athletes. Local ace and professional drifter Conor Shanahan (from Killavullen) and World Rally star Josh McErlean will perform demonstration drives in their respective Toyota GT86 and M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 cars. The duo, along with Conor's brother Jack are part of a one and three quarter hour show that features the Red Bull Drift Pursuit when sixteen of the country's top drifters go head-to-head (knockout format) at the former military base and prison. The evening of exhilarating and thrilling motorsport event has a Cork versus Kerry battle when Trevor Healy (Cork) takes on Colin O'Sullivan (Kerry) in the first round of sixteen. Drivers will be judged on two key criteria - course time and clipping points, with penalties for any infringements. Each of the head to head contests is about accuracy, control and speed. The presence of the Shanahan's brothers should be a great spectacle as they are world renowned for showcasing their unique skills. McErlean, along with his Killeagh co-driver Eoin Treacy, is showing good form in their maiden WRC Rally1 season. Speaking ahead of the event, Killavullen native Shanahan said: 'As a proud Corkman, it is incredible to see a drift event like this take place at such an iconic location like Spike Island. Some of the best drifters in Ireland will be competing and I know Jack and I are looking forward to putting on a show.' McErlean said. "It's (Spike Island) one of the most iconic locations in the country, so to bring the energy of a Red Bull drift event here is something seriously special. Driving the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car in a place like this, it's going to be loud, fast and an unforgettable experience.' The event will roar into action at 6.45pm and is scheduled to finish at 8.30pm. Tickets are currently on sale on the Red Bull website, priced at €45 for a standing ticket and €55 for a seated ticket. Ferry transfers from Ringaskiddy or Cobh are included in the ticket, with ferries running throughout the day. Prior to the competition itself, spectators can avail of Spike Island tours to learn more about the island's history as a monastic settlement and its 18th-century bastion fort (Fort Mitchel). It's strategic location within the Cork Harbour meant it was used for defence, a naval base and more recently, a prison. During the evening the Shanahan brothers and McErlean will partake in a Q&A session while the drivers' paddock will be open to spectators keen to get a closer look at the action. The other Cork drivers that will participate in the Red Bull Drift Pursuit are Alan Hynes, the 2024 Red Bull Drift Pursuit champion, Aidan Dennehy and Owen Magner.
Irish Examiner
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
McErlean and Treacy finish eighth in Portugal
Motorsport With the best performance of their maiden WRC Rally1 season, Kilrea's Josh McErlean and Killeagh's Eoin Treacy brought their M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 home in eighth place in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the fifth round of the World Rally Championship. Gradually building their pace over the 23 stages and watched by some half a million spectators over three days, the Irish duo were the top-performing M-Sport Ford crew. The rally was won by French driver Sebastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) for a record seventh time as the Toyota team notched a sixth successive victory in Portugal. Estonian Ott Tanak was controlling proceedings until his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 lost time on Saturday's penultimate stage that dropped him to third. He recovered to finish second, 8.7s behind Ogier and 3.5s ahead of Finland's Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). Tanak struggled on Saturday's opening three stages, suffering a puncture on SS13 some six kilometres from the stage end. Nevertheless, he managed to retain the lead - 11.8s ahead of Ogier with Rovanpera a further 24s behind in third. Tanak remained in control and increased his lead over Ogier to 13.9s but it went awry on the day's penultimate test (Amarante2) when his Hyundai developed a power steering issue midway through the 22.1km test. He dropped some 45s and slipped to third. Eight-time world champion Ogier inherited top spot and ended the penultimate leg with a 27.6s lead over his Toyota Gazoo Racing team mate Kalle Rovanpera with the unfortunate Tanak 8.5s further behind in third. 'It's not the way you want to win any fight,' said Ogier. 'We were both pushing really hard - that's the game." Tanak said, 'It's part of the game, I guess. Very unfortunate, but we gave everything from our side.' Rovanpera eclipsed teammate Takamoto Katsuta on SS14, the latter then dropping behind Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, who slotted into fourth on the penultimate stage. Having lost time on Friday as he opened the roads, championship leader Elfyn Evans struggled to find any rhythm even though he had a better road position, he was seventh - 17.5s behind team mate Sami Pajari. McErlean/Treacy moved up to eighth, edging past M-Sport Ford team mate Gregoire Munster on the opening stage with the margin increasing to 28.5s at the end of the leg. "I think you have to do a mind shift to not care, but obviously you want to protect the car and try to get the experience, so it's kind of the balance between saving it and going at it." said McErlean. Tanak won all but the first of Sunday's six stages, in the process reeling in Rovanpera for second as he claimed ten extra championship points, five each from Super Sunday and the Power Stage. Sixth placed Evans still leads the series - 30 points from Rovanpera. At the finish McErlean added, "Crazy rally as always, so nice to come to the finish and have some good times as well. Big thanks to the whole team, because four cars (M-Sport) without any problems is some achievement." Oliver Solberg (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) won the WRC2 category, his seventh such victory in the category. Donegal's Eamonn Kelly and Monaghan's Conor Mohan (Ford Fiesta Rally3) were as high as second in the Junior WRC category until a double puncture cost them time, they eventually finished seventh. Meanwhile, the Irish pairing of Killarney's Alan Ring and Newcestown's Adrian Deasy took the Munster Joinery liveried BMW M3 to a sixth place finish in Rallye d'Antibes Historic Rally, a counting round of the European Historic Rally Championship. They made a fine start to the nine stage rally and occupied second overall after the opening stage 10.23km stage. Weather conditions posed a tough challenge as they varied considerably from the service park to the stages that were some 50km away. They finished Friday's leg in eighth spot and made up two places on Saturday's stages. The legendary Jari-Matti Latvala took a lead of a minute a minute and 6.5s into the final stage where his Toyota Celica ST185 suffered an electrical glitch that forced his retirement with French driver Tom Pieri (BMW M3 E30) best placed to take advantage.
Irish Examiner
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Motorsport: Top 10 standing for McErlean and Treacy in Portugal
Irish pair Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1) ended a gruelling Friday schedule of 10 stages of Rally Portugal, round five of the World Rally Championship in ninth position as Estonian Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 Rally1) headed the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 of Sebastien Ogier by seven seconds, the latter followed by team mates Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanpera. There was just 0.2s between Hyundai pair Ott Tanak and Adrien Fourmaux following the morning four stages south of Porto with both posting a pair of stage wins. Tanak was best on the morning opener taking over the lead from Welsh ace and overnight leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) with fellow Toyota driver Kalle Rovanpera providing the main challenge to Tanak, the margin between them was 2.5s. As the event progressed, Fourmaux benefitted from his choice of a soft compound Hankook tyre and with the best times on SS4 and SS5, he displaced Rovanpera to slot into second - just 0.2s behind Tanak. Ogier headed the Toyota challenge in third - 7.4s of the lead and a mere 0.7s ahead of Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). Championship leader Evans suffered from running first on the road as he swept a clean line for his rivals, he ended the loop in sixth place 21.7s off top spot. Neuville clipped a bank with the rear of his Hyundai on SS2 and was fortunate to escape major damage. McErlean was the top Ford driver in ninth place 2.5s ahead of Gregoire Munster. Their team mate Martiņs Sesks lost several minutes when he was forced to stop and change the front-left wheel following a puncture on the third corner of the day's opening stage that dropped him to eighty-fourth in classification. McErlean described his morning's work. "Very difficult yeah. It's changing all the time, sometimes you run wide and then next corner there's good grip.' On the repeat of three of the morning's stages Tanak maintained the lead as Ogier, Katsuta and Neuville were the respective stage winners. Fourmaux hit trouble on SS8 when he damaged the left front corner of his Hyundai i20 Rally1 that was left marooned on the exit of a corner. Munster edged ahead of McErlean for eighth place, "I just didn't find the rhythm, especially towards the end. Let's keep on learning, still a long day ahead." said McErlean. Although McErlean regained eighth spot on the day's penultimate stage Munster finished the day 4.1s ahead of his team mate. "Less grip than I expected, it's nice to get through the day, probably the longest in my career." commented McErlean. Evans continued to be hampered by running first on the road, he ended the day in seventh - a minute and 0.9s off the lead.
