For any developing Rally Driver, World Rally Championship experience is vital. For Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy team member Josh McErlean, his next slice of WRC action will come at the Vodafone Rally de Portugal (20-23 May). Marking his return to the world stage after WRC Rally Monza at the end of last season, McErlean will run in a Hyundai i20 R5 for PCRS Rallysport.
At 21, the driver from Kilrea, Co. Derry will be heading to the event for the first time. The Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver will be contesting in the WRC3 category. He will be joined by regular co-driver Keaton Williams. This event will be another test for McErlean who is aiming to gain experience throughout the 2021 season in a variety of events and on a variety of surfaces. For a developing Rally Driver, nothing beats experience.
Experience is something that McErlean has already been getting plenty of this year, having already competed in events on either side of the Atlantic and turning heads along the way. Backed by Team Ireland Motorsports Foundation and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, McErlean headed to America at the beginning of May to compete in the Dirtfish Olympus Rally. The Olympus Rally is one of the highlights on the American Rally Championship calendar and features star names like Travis Pastrana and Ken Block.
McErlean competed in the RC2 category and stunned the competition in his debut on the American stage on his way to third overall in the rally. Not one to rest on his laurels, McErlean went to compete in Portugal in the Rali Terras D’Aboboreira. His fortunes turned from his American outing unfortunately as he endured a difficult rally. However, despite road positioning issues he managed to finish just outside the top ten and gained vital learnings on Portuguese gravel, this will be vital heading into Vodafone Rally de Portugal.
“I’m very happy we headed to Portugal last week. Of course, we should have been in the Azores for the ERC but when that was pushed back everyone rallied around to make alternative plans and it’s pretty special to think we are now heading back to the WRC again.”
“Whilst it wasn’t quite the same stages that we will experience at the end of the month, it has opened my eyes to the road surface changes and what to expect during the event, which is very important. I can’t thank all my supporters and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy enough for this opportunity and as always I hope I do them proud. This is a huge challenge that I am really looking forward to. I am putting everything into it,” said McErlean.
Both the Olympus Rally and Rali Terras D’Aboboreira have given McErlean vital learnings that he will take forward to his WRC return. Last time out on the world stage at Rally Monza last year, McErlean came home 17th overall and 7th in the WRC3 category. He is looking forward to furthering his development in Rallying and the WRC;
“It’s no secret that we are still very eager to learn new rallies, new surfaces and get as much experience as we can under our belts this season and being able to contest WRC Portugal is a real privilege,” says McErlean.
“We are looking to push harder than we did last year and we have to use our heads, be smart and put all our knowledge from the past two events to good use. Olympus was a fast rally and it was great to be so competitive from the outset and I’m hugely grateful to Enda McCormack of McCormack Contracting for the car. D’Aboboreira highlighted how important it is to get bedded into such a unique surface. Coming back to the WRC will be a great marker for me to see how I`ve improved over the last six months in confidence and experience. I’m very eager to see how we get on against the regular WRC contenders”.
McErlean will be hoping that his WRC outing is another successful step in his ever progressing Rally career in the 2021 season.
