In-form Armstrong leads strong Irish presence on Spain's ERC opener

Shane Byrne and Jon Armstrong

Seven Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy members are set to take on this weekend’s Rally Sierra Morena, round one of the 2025 European Rally Championship.

Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne are seeded fourth for the Cordoba-based event as they kickstart their ERC campaign with M-Sport Ford. 2023 ERC3 champion Armstrong is hoping to build on a top-five finish in last year’s series, which he ended with an impressive runner-up result on Poland’s Rally Silesia.

The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew completed a successful asphalt warm-up on March’s West Cork Rally, scoring an incredible 12 stage wins. Armstrong is looking forward to renewing competition with Spanish favourite Efren Llarena, ex-WRC ace Mads Ostberg, and former Junior WRC rival Robert Virves.

“The asphalt stages in Spain are always a big challenge,” described Armstrong. “When you find a good rhythm and get everything in the right window, it is a really nice feeling.

“We will put our heads down, focus on our recce, and try to build on our results from last year.

“We did some good work in West Cork as well, so there is plenty to take from that. We will aim to enjoy it, push as hard as we can, and see what kind of result we can get. It is going to be a long year but we want to hit the ground running.”

Two MI Rally Academy crews feature in Rally Sierra Morena’s 22-car-strong Junior ERC field. Craig Rahill and Conor Smith will start one car ahead of Keelan Grogan and Ayrton Sherlock’s similar Peugeot 208 Rally4.

Billy Coleman Award winner Rahill has kicked off his year with a string of pacey performances, racking up stage wins in Junior BRC, winning his class in Ireland’s National Rally Championship opener, and topping the Rally4 category on his Spanish debut on last weekend’s Rallye La Llana.

Rahill and Smith entered Rallye La Llana to gain experience for their Junior ERC debut. They seized eight stage wins from ten, taking an eventual one-minute and 14-second Rally4 victory.

“The stages in Spain are completely different to home,” reflected Rahill. “They are based on wide roads with a consistently high-grip surface. They are demanding but enjoyable and it was great to get time on the hard-compound Hankook tyres ahead of this weekend.

“It all gives us good confidence heading into Rally Sierra Morena but we know we will have to find another step in pace to challenge Junior ERC’s frontrunners.”

Grogan has had a busy start to the year competing on events across the UK and Ireland. 10 Rally4 stage wins in West Cork while running Hankook tyres for the first time will give him great confidence ahead of his maiden Junior ERC appearance.

“I am excited to be taking on the first round of our Junior ERC campaign,” said Grogan. “After a lot of hard work and preparation it is great to finally be heading into the rally week itself.

“The stages will be different from anything we’ve experienced before. Smooth and flowing, with a mix of relentless sequences of corners and fast flat-out sections will provide a big challenge, but we are ready to give it our best.

“It will be an incredible experience, and we are very grateful to everyone supporting us in getting over there and competing, in particular to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy.”

Completing the strong MI Rally Academy entry is Killian McArdle who will co-drive Casey Jay Coleman in a Ford Fiesta Rally3. They line up in the middle of an 11-car ERC3 field, hoping for a positive start to their campaign. Coleman and McArdle were also in action on Rally La Llana, finishing inside the top 20 on the warm-up event.