McErlean and Treacy complete gruelling Safari Rally Kenya
Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy survived the extreme conditions of Safari Rally Kenya to gain a top-ten finish on Safari Rally Kenya.
The World Rally Championship’s third round lived up to its notorious reputation as crews battled to complete the four-day epic.
On their Safari Rally debut, consistent times slotted the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew into fourth after stage four. McErlean’s fight for top positions quickly shifted to a fight for survival, though, when Safari’s ruthless terrain damaged one of their Ford Puma Rally1’s underside panels.
A hole above the car’s exhaust let plumes of dust into the Puma’s cockpit and when McErlean started to smell burning, the Irish duo sensibly stopped to investigate mid-stage. Thankfully, the Puma Rally1 was able to continue but the subsequent three-minute time loss over the 31-kilometre Camp Moran test dropped them down the order.
Saturday gave McErlean and Treacy another Safari Rally experience as they were forced to repair a broken steering arm on the day’s opening Sleeping Warrior test. Although the stoppage cost them 28 minutes and dropped them out of the top ten, the duo’s remarkable repairs more importantly kept them in the rally.
The M-Sport Ford crew’s perseverance was rewarded that afternoon when they mastered the treacherously muddy conditions of Elmenteita. McErlean and Treacy recorded Elmenteita’s second-fastest stage time - their best result of the season so far. It was a highlight moment for the whole team as Gregoire Munster also set the timing screens alight to make it an M-Sport Ford 1-2.
McErlean continued to shine on Sunday’s five stages, successfully completing his fight back up the leaderboard to pick up a championship point in tenth overall. A puncture and broken rim on the Hell’s Gate Power Stage couldn’t stop the 25-year-old from climbing one last position on the Safari’s final stage to seal the hard-earned top-ten finish.
McErlean and Treacy’s positive Sunday doubled their championship points haul from Kenya thanks to a fifth-place finish on the event’s Super Sunday standings.
“It has been quite crazy, quite surreal,” reflected McErlean. “Honestly, it is really nice to get to the finish. Okay, we had our problems but we persevered and made it through.
“You have to come to Safari Rally and expect these conditions, it’s part of what it’s about.
“Not only that but the people and everyone involved, from the organisers to the teams, it’s a huge effort to come out here and put on a show as a non-European event.
“It is such a huge spectacle so congratulations to everyone for making it happen.”
Motorsport Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston also endured a plethora of rally emotions on the arduous Safari Rally. Johnston and his Toyota Yaris Rally1 driver Takamoto Katsuta set several strong stage times, including four stage wins to solidify what looked set to be a fourth-place finish.
Katsuta and Johnston had held second after Thursday’s two stages but a puncture on Friday’s opening test dropped them to 13th. Further punctures couldn’t stop their progress up to fourth but damage from a roll on Safari’s final stage forced them to retire between the end of the last stage and the rally’s official finish.