Latest news with #SectoRallyFinland
Irish Examiner
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan win in Junior WRC category of Secto Rally Finland
Donegal's Eamonn Kelly (Ford Fiesta Rally3), co-driven by Monaghan's Conor Mohan, won the Junior WRC category of Secto Rally Finland, finishing 8.3s ahead of series leader Taylor Gill. The twenty-six year old Frosses driver also secured extra championship points courtesy of three stage wins. Moving into the lead on Saturday's penultimate stage when rival Taylor Gill had trye issues, Kelly punched in the fastest time (SS17) to lead by 21.2s. The Irish pair managed their advantage well. On the final leg - a double run over the famous 23.98km Ouninpohja stage - they went on to claim a famous win. Standing on the top step of the podium, a delighted Kelly, who previously won the JWRC round in Croatia in 2023, said: "This is probably the first win we have really earned. Finland is the place of speed and one of the most iconic rallies in the world, it's a special event to win. "It's a proper rally from the word go, there's no minding, it's flat out, especially when you're racing against really fast guys. "From the start we were in the mix and it's been so enjoyable to be battling it out on these roads, the buzz is unbelievable." Meanwhile, in the main event, another all-Irish crew - Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) took a season equalling seventh place after they benefitted from the final stage retirement of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux. Just like Monte Carlo, they were the top M-Sport Ford crew and also netted their highest points (6) haul. Home hero Kalle Rovanpera, with his maiden Secto Rally Finland, victory led home a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 top five with a masterful display that powered him into WR title contention - three points behind team mate Elfyn Evans, who regained the championship lead. Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta took second place (39.2s behind) with Sebastien Ogier completing the podium line-up and even though he's on a partial programme, the French ace is only 13 points off the championship lead - the same as pre-event series leader Ott Tanak, who eventually finished tenth after the organisers imposed a five minute penalty. Rovanpera began Saturday's eight stages with a 4.9s lead over the Hyundai of Thierry Neuville whose team mate Adrien Fourmaux was 2.8s further behind in third, but that was as close as they got. Apart from a slow puncture on SS13 where Rovanpera found the conditions the most difficult he's ever faced on home soil, the Finn won five stages and ended the day with a 36.1s advantage. His nearest challengers were his own team mates, a staggering quartet of Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 that provided the Japanese outfit with a lock-out of the top five places. Neuville and Fourmaux stayed in touch and were within 15s of Rovanpera at the midday service, but all changed on the repeat run. Neuville, who lost brakes for a few kilometres on SS14, and Fourmaux both suffered front right wheel puncture early in SS16 before ending the day in sixth and seventh respectively with Neuville also struggling with brake issues. Having begun the day with some understeer, the demise of the Hyundai duo propelled Katsuta into second, Ogier in third had one objective - to stay ahead of fourth placed Evans, who was set to regain the championship lead. Josh McErlean was eighth - gaining a position when his team mate Sesks struggled for vision through a misted screen on SS15 as he lost some two minutes when he had to stop and clear the screen. The wet conditions posed plenty of issues on the same stage for McErlean, who declared: "So, so sketchy. You don't know where the water is or the puddles appear. So tricky. At the start we couldn't see, we opened the vents on the high speed road." Sami Pajari completed Toyota's noteworthy top-five lockout. M-Sport's Gregoire Munster and Martins Sesks completed the top ten. Pre-event series leader Ott Tanak was down in fourteenth position due to the addition of a five-minute penalty imposed for an incident involving a scrutineer on Friday. On the final leg Rovanpera, whose average speed was 129.95kph, went on to take a maximum thirty-five championship points winning the Power Stage as Toyota became the first manufacturer in 35 years to take the top five positions equalling Lancia's record set in 1990. Top M=Sport driver McErlean showed improved pace from his previous outing in Estonia. Secto Rally Finland (Round 9, World Rally Championship) Jyvaskyla 1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h. 21m. 51.4a 2. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+39.2s 3. S. Ogier/V Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+45.1s 4. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+48.1s 5. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 18.8s 6. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+2m. 01.5s 7. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+4m. 07.4s 8. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 17.2s 9. G. Munster/L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 24.9s 10. O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+7m. 38.4s. Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings (After Round 9) 1. E. Evans 176pts 2. K. Rovanpera 173pts 3. S. Ogier 163pts 4. O. Tanak 163pts 5. T. Neuville 125pts 6. T. Katsuta 87pts 7. A. Fourmaux 71pts 8. O. Solberg 52pts 9. S. Pajari 48pts 10. G. Munster 21pts 11. J. McErlean 20pts. World Rally Manufacturers' Championship Standings (After Round 9) 1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 458pts 2, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 371pts 3. M-Sport Ford WRT 129pts 4. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 85pts. Secto Rally Finland Juniors 1. E. Kelly/C. Mohan (Ford Fiesta Rally3) 2h. 41m. 21.6s 2. T. Gill/D. Brkic (Ford Fiesta Rally3)+8.3s 3. A. Turkkan/O. Albayrak (Ford Fiesta Rally3)+21.7s. Junior WRC Positions 1. T. Gill 95pts 2. M. Johansson 79pts 3. A. Turkkan 62pts 4. E. Kelly 57pts 5. K. Kakaz 48pts.
Irish Examiner
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy to begin second leg of Secto Rally Finland in ninth place
The Irish crew of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) will begin Saturday's second leg of Secto Rally Finland in ninth place after a steady run through Friday's nine stages. Out in front in a tense battle and having taken the outright lead on SS3, Finland's Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), who has never won his home event, leads the way - 4.9s seconds ahead of reigning World champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 Rally1) whose team mate Adrian Fourmaux is 2.8s seconds further behind in third. Pre-event championship leader Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 Rally1) took a 1.3s lead on Thursday evening's opening Harju street stage but it was Japan's Takamoto Katsuta (with his Fintona co-driver Aaron Johnston) and Rovanpera that shared top spot after Friday's opener before Rovanpera won the next two stages that included the fast Saarikas stage - a reversal of previous years. He arrived at the service park with a 4.4s advantage over Fourmaux with Finland's Sami Pajari (Toyota) just a tenth of a second behind in third, the latter also winning two of the morning's stages. Katsuta in fourth was followed by Neuville, who like many others, was of the opinion that the stages were too fast. "It's just pure taking risks.' Eight time World champion and last year's event winner Sebastien Ogier, who was trying to find a rhythm, concurred. "The roads are almost too fast in places - they're just flat out everywhere, not the most enjoyable in places." Meanwhile, the M-Sport trio of Martiņs Sesks, Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster were having their own battle with Sesks leading the way 6.8s ahead of McErlean. Munster had a major slide on SS3 and overshot on SS4 and was 21.4s behind McErlean, who commented, "Takes a bit to get your head around, it goes better than you expect because everything's flat out, bit more commitment needed. "It should be easier (through the second pass) - onboards to look at where you're losing (time)." Rain made the afternoon stages tricky and difficult - each of the four stages in the Finnish countryside had a different winner before Fourmaux won the short Harju street stage as a composed Rovanpera, who admitted he took a few risks, continued to lead. Championship leader Ott Tanak, who had the task of opening the roads, ended the day in tenth - his Hyundai snapped under braking some 2km into SS7 and the front right took a heavy impact after it hit a tree, however, he was quickly back up to speed. Meanwhile, Donegal's Eamonn Kelly/Conor Mohan (Ford Fiesta Rally3) are second in the Junior WRC category - 14.9s behind leaders Taylor Gill/Daniel Brkic, the Irish crew were quickest on SS3. There are eight stages today and two on Sunday - a double run over the 23.98km Ouninpohja stage. Secto Rally Finland (Round 8, World Rally Championship) Jyvaskyla 1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 56m. 31.6s 2. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+4.9s 3. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+7.7s 4. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+8.1s 5. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+15.7s 6. S. Ogier/V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+17.6s 7. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+26.0s 8. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+40.5s 9. J. McErlean/O. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+1m. 06.0s 10. O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+1m. 07.2s.
Irish Examiner
01-08-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
McErlean buzzing for legendary 'Grand Prix on gravel'
Motorsport The Jyvaskyla based Secto Rally Finland is one of the most iconic events on the World Rally Championship calendar. It's part of the continuing Rally1 journey for the Irish crew of Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy and their M-Sport team boss Richard Millener wants the Irish duo to "push forward" on one of the fastest gravel events of the series, dubbed "a Grand Prix on gravel". The pair's ninth place finish in Rally Estonia was another important progression but Millener wants more, not just from the Kilrea/Killeagh combination but their teammates as well. "Rally Finland is a legendary event and while it's always a huge challenge, it's also an incredible opportunity for our young line-up to shine. Gregoire (Munster), Josh (McErlean) and Martins (Sesks) have all been consistently learning throughout the season and Finland will test every aspect of their driving. We're looking forward to seeing how they adapt and push forward, we're confident we can see some positive results in Finland.' In his fourth outing here, McErlean is relatively familiar with the terrain in Finland (round nine of the WRC) that includes the classic stages of Ouninpohja and Paijala, while Treacy had his maiden trip with philanthropist John Coyne, the man largely responsible for the MI Academy members' presence at the top tier in World rallying. McErlean said, 'Rally Finland is an event I've been looking forward to ever since we got the opportunity to compete at Rally1 level. It's a special feeling to be taking on these iconic Finnish roads in such a car. This weekend is about taking a step forward, trusting in ourselves, committing fully to the pace, and showing what we can do with this package. The key will be confidence and rhythm and I'm ready to enjoy every moment of the ride through the forests.' Up front, the title race continues to gather momentum as Estonian Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) holds a slender single point advantage over Welsh ace Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). As Tanak is first on the road today (Friday), however, unlike Evans, who led for several rounds, it isn't the disadvantage it was earlier in the season. A winner in Finland in 2018, 2019 and 2022 Tanak knows what to expect on a rally where the average speed is 125km/hr. 'It's all about pure performance. Setup is crucial to performing well because of the mix of high speeds and jumps, you need grip and stability and to be absolutely precise with where you place the car at all times." Evans is a double victor in Rally Finland and running behind Tanak, he will seek to push home that advantage as he welcomes his team mate and eight time WR champion Sebastien Ogier back to championship action, their team mate Kalle Rovanpera seeks to win his home event for the first time. In the Junior WRC, Eamonn Kelly/Conor Mohan, who are fifth, warmed up for the event with a second place finish in last week's HYAcenter Ralli - just 0.3 shy of the winners. *** Meanwhile, the FIA and WRC Promoter unveiled the 2026 WRC calendar that has 14 rounds across four continents. The rounds are: 1. Rallye Monte-Carlo (January 22-25); 2. Rally Sweden (February 12-15); 3. Safari Rally Kenya (March 12-15): 4. Croatia Rally (April 9-12); 5. Rally Islas Canarias (April 23-26); 6. Vodafone Rally de Portugal (May 7-10); 7. Rally Japan (May 28-31); 8. EKO Acropolis Rally (June 25- 28); 9. Rally Estonia (July 16-19); 10. Secto Rally Finland (July30 -August2); 11. Rally del Paraguay (August 27-30); 12. Rally Chile Bio Bío (September 10-13); 13. Rally Italia (October 1-4); 14. Rally Saudi Arabia (November 11-14). *** On the home front it seems the proposed Galway Mini Stage Rally (October) remains in a state of flux. Amid discussions between the Munster, Skibbereen and Galway clubs, it appeared that a November date was more appropriate and was set to get the green light at this week's Motor Sport Council meeting. However, objections from their counterparts in Donegal and Killarney seems to have jettisoned that particular proposal - for the moment at least.
