WRC
McErlean looks to build on breakthrough Acropolis performance
Josh McErlean says his breakthrough performance at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece has given him a much-needed confidence boost after a difficult start to the season.
The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver and co-driver Eoin Treacy finished sixth overall after one of the toughest rallies of the year, surviving three punishing days of Greek gravel, heat, rocks and constant jeopardy.
McErlean had originally finished fourth before a post-rally one-minute penalty dropped the Irish crew to sixth, behind Sami Pajari and Elfyn Evans. The penalty related to Treacy’s safety belt not being properly fastened while the car was in motion after the pair had gone off the road and rejoined on SS16.
Even with that late setback, sixth remains McErlean and Treacy’s best WRC result.
“It has been an awesome effort from the whole team - everyone in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, John Coyne, everybody,” McErlean said. “It has all come together.
“After such a disastrous start to the year, it is nice to finally put everything together and get a good result. It is the best result we have ever had in WRC.”
The result was hard-earned. McErlean drove a clean rally as others hit trouble, then had to survive a heart-stopping moment on Sunday’s second pass of Aghii Theodori when he slid off the road near the end of the stage.
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The Ford Puma Rally1 became briefly stuck on a bank on the outside of a right-hander, and McErlean admitted he thought the chance of a breakthrough result had disappeared.
“I thought it was over, to be honest,” he said. “I just missed the braking a bit. Obviously, with the tyres at that point, they were quite hot, and we just slid. The front wheels got stuck and I could nearly feel it dropping in.
“I put it into reverse and it just started to spin. I went forward, reversed, and it didn’t go, so I put it into stage mode. I rolled forward a bit more, put it back into stage mode, and it came out.”
That incident became central to the later stewards’ decision, but in the moment McErlean and Treacy’s focus was simply on getting moving again and protecting the result.
“By that point I thought it was over, so Eoin had taken off his belts,” McErlean explained before the penalty was confirmed. “Then we got back onto the road and he had to put the belts back on. It was a case of, ‘Wait, wait, wait.’
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“I thought it was over, but we had 14 seconds coming into the final stage. Still, that is not a lot when you have Toyota and Hyundai going for Sunday points. So, we had to push, and it was pretty crazy.”
The Acropolis result marks an important step for McErlean after a first half of the season that has included pace, learning and frustration in equal measure.
The Northern Irishman pointed to his recent appearance on home roads at the Donegal International Rally as a turning point in confidence.
“Going home last week to Donegal was a good thing,” he said. “It gave me some confidence back. We were able to match Kris [Meeke, former WRC winner] and, okay, it is a different car, a different championship and different people, but you know the level is there. It gives you some inspiration and motivation.
“I think it was a good thing.”
The result could also prove significant for McErlean’s longer-term future. He has made no secret of the need to deliver results in Rally1 machinery, and Greece offered the clearest sign yet that he can turn speed and composure into a strong overall finish.
“You could say that,” he said when asked whether the result helps his position looking towards next season. “There is no doubt about it.
“I think it is a sport that is determined by results, and I have never hidden away from that. So let’s see, and hopefully there is more of the same.”
