Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy up to 10th after first leg of Delfi Rally Estonia
During Friday's seven high speed stages the Kilrea driver and his Killeagh co-driver Eoin Treacy showed good form and ended the first leg in tenth place.
It was a spectacular day for Swedish ace Oliver Solberg, back behind the wheel of a Rally1 car for the first time in almost three years, the 23-year old, onboard the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, leads the way - 12.4s ahead of home hero Ott Tanak (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) with reigning World champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) just 1.2s further behind in third.
Solberg, a regular WRC2 competitor took his maiden WR stage win on the morning opener (SS2) to move into a 5.3s, he was also quickest on the repeat stage and held an 8.5s lead over Tanak at service.
With a beaming smile, he enthused: "It's the best car I have ever driven. I am just enjoying and if I need to back off, I will back off, but so far I am just building up step by step.'
Surprisingly Tanak, who was best on SS3 and SS5, opined that he struggled for confidence. McErlean had a trio of top ten stage times and held ninth and the top M-Sport Ford driver.
Fourmaux, Solberg and Neuville took stage wins during the afternoon where McErlean admitted that one of the ruts almost took the steering wheel from his hands. As he gained in confidence, his commitment levels also increased, however, he couldn't prevent team mate Martin Sesks from leapfrogging him into ninth.
Winning the unofficial "drift" competition at the roundabout on the day's final but shortest stage, McErlean said: "We were chatting about it at the start of the stage, I channelled my inner Conor Shanahan from the Red Bull Event (Spike Island), at least we have won something today."
On a more serious note, he added: "It's been good, we are not that far away from Martins (Sesks). It's more about the feeling and the confidence in the car. I think we can improve a lot still, it's just trusting that last bit with the pacenotes and the feeling.
"Yeah, a lot more to come from me and Eoin rather than the car."
Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gr Yaris Ral1y1) had a tough day running first on the road and sweeping the loose gravel, he ended the day in seventh. There are nine stages today (Saturday) and three on Sunday.
Delfi Rally Estonia (Round 8, World Rally Championship) Tartu
1. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)1h. 06m. 33.4s
2. O. Tänak/M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+12.4s
3. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+14.2s
4. K. Rovanperä/ J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+20.1s
5. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+ 29.8s
6. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+30.0s
7. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+41.4s
8. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 05.1s
9. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+1m. 11.4s
10. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+1m. 30.0s.
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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Motors: McErlean and Treacy finish ninth at the Delfi Rally Estonia
The Irish crew of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) took their fourth WRC points scoring finish of the season with ninth place in the Delfi Rally Estonia as Swedish driver Oliver Solberg (23) took a magnificent debut Rally1 maiden victory with the Toyota GR Racing outfit. Taking the lead on Saturday's opening stage (SS2) Solberg, the son of former WR champion Petter, showed pace and calmness that belied his years and indeed his Rally1 experience in what was his first Rally1 drive in some three years. Shedding tears at the finish, he said, 'After everything, for so many years trying and trying and trying and dreaming, me and Elliott (Edmondson, his co-driver) have finally made it. I don't know how to describe it. I just want to say a big thank you to Toyota, to the team and to the test team, who have helped me get so comfortable. For all the help in this beautiful team, I've never had such a good time in my life, so thank you.' Solberg finished 25.2s ahead of Hyundai's Ott Tanak, who moves into a one point lead of the championship, with his team mate and reigning champion Thierry Neuville, 23.1s further behind in third. Through Saturday's second leg of nine stages, McErlean/ Treacy maintained their 10th place throughout the day. Running second on the road and having to sweep the loose gravel they had a consistent run as they tried to find their limits without taking risks. At a junction soon after the start of SS12 they out-braked themselves and ended up in a ditch but luckily, escaped unscathed. Out in front, Solberg continued to impress and with four stage wins ended the day with a 21.1s lead, Some changes to the set-up of his Toyota GR Yaris gave Solberg some extra confidence and he duly topped the time sheets on three of the four morning speed tests. His performance allowed him tailor his approach during the afternoon stages to one of stage management. All the time, the Hyundai i20 duo of Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville battled for second - trading places on six occasions with local hero Tanak ending the day 4s ahead of the reigning World champion, who lost some 7s on the day's first stage when he stalled after clipping a chicane bale. Japan's Takamoto Katsuta and his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnson were sixth overnight. As Solberg went on to claim an astonishing victory, second placed Tanak became the new leader of the championship, Neuville incurred a 10 second penalty for a jump start on Sunday's first stage. While McErlean admitted he wasn't as committed as he would have wished, it was important to get to the finish and with the final stage retirement of Katsuta/Johnston due to a mechanical issue, the Irish crew were classified ninth. On the domestic front, Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty (Skoda Fabia R5) won the Sligo Rally to reclaim the lead of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship. 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2 days ago
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