McErlean mounts asphalt attack as Canaries makes WRC debut

Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy return to World Rally Championship action this weekend on the Canary Islands Rally.

The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew hopes to build on the experience gained aboard M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1 as they take on WRC’s first proper all-asphalt event of the year.

A seventh-place Rally Monte-Carlo finish on McErlean’s Rally1 debut outlined the 25-year-old’s ability to adapt to new surroundings. It allowed McErlean to sample the Puma Rally1 on European asphalt, although conditions on the WRC’s end-of-winter curtain-raiser were altogether different from those expected off the coast of north-west Africa.

McErlean showed his pace on the snow stages of Rally Sweden with a top-five time on stage six and ran as high as fourth overall on the car-crunching stages of Safari Rally Kenya.

Now McErlean and Treacy’s focus turns to the Canary Islands Rally, which features on the WRC calendar for the first time in 48-year history.

“The Canary Islands Rally is the first of the season where we can have a little bit of predictability in terms of what we will face,” said McErlean.

“Monte, Sweden, and Safari are all very unique. This is the first time we get a ‘clean’ surface and some consistency in grip. Like any event in the calendar, it has a route where experience still counts, but it will really highlight commitment and confidence. It’s an exciting next step.

“This will be all about carrying speed through corners, finding that rhythm, and committing early. Monte Carlo gave me my first taste of what a Rally1 car can do on a sealed surface, but Canaries is different; it’s full on, proper, smooth tarmac.

“The goal this weekend is to build on what I learned there, really trusting the aero, the downforce, and grip these cars can create. These roads demand precision and commitment, and I’m excited for that.

“Of course, it’s still a WRC round, nothing is ever easy. But we’re feeling ready for this one.”

The MI Rally Academy duo will be joined in WRC’s Rally1 line-up by Tyrone-based co-driver Aaron Johnston.

Alongside Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta, Johnston will run seventh on the road in the Toyota Yaris Rally1. Katsuta and Johnston will be hoping to convert their strong pace so far in 2025 into a top result. Their runner-up finish in Sweden was followed by several stage wins on Safari Rally Kenya.

Cavan’s James Fulton co-drives for another Japanese driver this weekend. Fulton and Toyota Yaris Rally2 pilot Yuki Yamamoto take on their third WRC event so far this year after a top-ten WRC2 finish last time out in Sweden.

After a podium finish in the WRC Masters Cup on Rally Monte-Carlo, Eamonn Boland and MJ Morrissey return to action in the Canaries, seeded 58th in their Ford Fiesta Rally2.

The Canary Islands Rally kicks off with shakedown on Thursday morning before the rally’s first of 18 stages starts at 08:03 on Friday.