McErlean makes history with WRC Japan debut

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean will make history this weekend by becoming the first driver from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy to contest a round of the World Rally Championship outside of Europe.

The Toksport World Rally Team Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver will tackle Rally Japan alongside co-driver James Fulton, who previously navigated the late Craig Breen on the rally.

McErlean is excited about the opportunity to compete in Japan.

He said: "Preparing for the last round of the World Championship and to go through the whole experience, the whole culture, has always been something that I’ve wanted to do. This has been on my bucket list, but to be here, to be in the middle of it, is quite surreal. We did the test on Sunday, and the fans’ passion around this place is incredible. To be in Toyota City itself and to see the crowds, it’s crazy to think that we’re actually here. To come this far – the progress to this level in the past few years is definitely something that we can all be proud of, and it’s nice to finally get to the final round of the WRC."

The rally, based in the Aichi and Gifu regions, will be a challenging event with a mix of fast and technical stages.

"It’s going to be a super tricky event, and obviously, it’s brand new tarmac for us. It’s a super technical rally, very slow speed in places, corner after corner, not many straights. There are kerbs, drains, and other things that can catch you out. We’re going to have to focus big on the recce, get good pacenotes, and look forward to the challenges that we’re here to experience. But we also want to improve our pace from the Central European Rally, and we’ve made some great improvements with the car and driving,” he added.

McErlean will be joined by the same route note crew that helped him to a strong fifth-place finish at the Central European Rally: Desi Henry and Shane Byrne.

“The weather seems to be dry at the moment but as we know the weather can change in the mountains and last year there was even some snow in places so these boys will have an incredible job ahead of them” he said.

“I'll trust them 100% and we'll try and get a good start, push on when we can and hopefully will end the year on a high and look forward to next year.”

It is a proud moment for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy founder and patron, John Coyne, too.

He arrived in Toyota City on Friday and spent the weekend relaxing checking out key locations for the week ahead.

“Josh has made a significant step up in pace in 2024,” he said.

“The majority of his events were on gravel this year so we decided to add an additional tarmac event after a strong performance on the Central European Rally where he finished fifth. We are looking forward to a strong finish to the season.”

Other Irish interest includes co-driver Aaron Johnston who will partner with local hero Takamoto Katsuta.

The Toyota Yaris Rally1 crew won nine stages in 2023 and they head to Katsuta’s home rally on the back of a strong showing at last month’s Central European Rally.

Eamonn Boland and MJ Morrisey return for a third crack at this iconic event, this time at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta Rally2.

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy member Jon Armstrong is working behind the scenes offering on-event tuition and advice to Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Rally Challenge Programme crew Yuki Yamamoto and Marko Salminen in a Toyota Yaris GR Rally2.

Josh McErlean on his last WRC outing in Central European Rally