Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Rally Poland Review
mcerlean and fulton showed great pace in rally poland.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean was on the brink of another top WRC2 category result in Poland over the weekend until Lady Luck had other ideas. The County Derry-based driver had been in the thick of the WRC2 battle since the start of ORLEAN Rally Poland on Thursday in his third World Rally Championship appearance of the season.
McErlean and co-driver James Fulton started the final day in third place in the WRC2 Challenger Category in their Tok Sport-prepared ŠkodaFabia RS Rally2. However, on Sunday’s opening stage, just after the Flying Finish, the Škoda ran wide, clipped a bale and damaged the car’s suspension beyond repair. Their rally ended there and then.
On Saturday they were in a fierce battle with some of the best Rally2 pilots in the world. They ended the day in 12th position overall, fourth in the WRC 2 category and third in the WRC2 Challenger class. Fellow Škoda drivers third-placed Oliver Solberg and fifth-placed Pierre-Louis Loubet are former Rally1 Class drivers.
"To be fighting with these guys who are former Rally1 Drivers is fantastic,” said McErlean on Saturday evening.
Rally Poland commenced on Thursday evening with the famous Mikołajki Arena Super Special. McErlean was 11th fastest on the spectator-friendly test but knew then that the real rally would not start until Friday morning.
“The crowds are amazing; they always are in Poland. Nice to get that one over and head into the forest tomorrow,” he said on Thursday night.
Friday’s itinerary featured two loops of Stańczyki (29.40km), Wieliczki (12.90km) and Olecko (13.20km) before closing with another run of Mikołajki Arena (SSS8, 2.50km). McErlean and Fulton were immediately on the pace, setting the second-fastest time on the first run over Stańczyki which propelled them from their overnight eleventh to second in WRC2. They ended Friday in third position.
“It has been a long day, with a lot of miles and a lot of fast stages,” he said at the Mikołajki Service Park on Friday evening.
Next up for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew is championship newcomer Rally Latvia from July 18 to 21.