McErlean and Treacy struggle with oversteer on opening day at Rally Islas Canarias
Struggling with understeer, the Irish crew of Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy finished outside the top ten on the opening day of Rally Islas Canarias, round four of the World Rally Championship. The Kilrea/Killeagh pairing are 12th overall. The Toyota GR outfit have an impressive lock-out of the top five places with Finland's Kalle Rovanpera finding form and pace to lead team mate Sebastien Ogier by 26.8s with championship leader Elfyn Evans a further 9.6s behind in third after the day's six stages.
Rovanpera imposed his authority from the very start and with three stage wins on the morning loop he arrived at the Las Palmas service park with a lead of 17.8s from Ogier, who was on his first WR event since his Monte Carlo victory with Evans a further 2.4s behind in third. Rally leader Rovanpera admitted he couldn't get the tyres to work on the third stage where his Toyota Yaris had some understeer, Ogier's tyres had too much pressure on the opening stage but he moved ahead of Evans on the next stage.
Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux, 34.2s off top spot in fourth place interrupted the Toyota dominance as Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta and his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnson placed fifth and sixth for the Japanese team. Set-up issues with their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 saw Ott Tanak and reigning champion Thierry Neuville languish in seventh and eighth respectively.
Luxemburg driver Gregoire Munster (ninth) was best of the M-Sport Ford team, however, he too suffered with understeer as did McErlean, who was eleventh. Following his tenth place on SS1 (Valsequillo) the longest stage of the rally at 26.32km, McErlean said, "We struggled a bit towards the end with some precision. (It's) so easy to miss a braking point or a note, everything is happening so much." The Wexford/Waterford crew of Eamonn Boland/MJ Morrissey (Ford Fiesta Rally2) were 28th in the RC2 category.
On the repeat loop, Tanak continued his unrelenting pace to complete the full set of fastest stage times. McErlean improved on all his previous stage times. "It's been nice team work today. Greg (Gregoire Munster) has been a big help today to learn off. Two more days of trying to learn this beast and these roads. Obviously, the times haven't been great, but it's been a crazy experience just to drive these roads. I didn't realise that there were so many people in this country, never mind fans." There are seven stages today (Saturday) and six on Sunday.
Rally Islas Canarias (Round 4, World Rally Championship) Gran Canaria: 1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)1h. 10m. 31.8s; 2. S. Ogier/V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+26.8s; 3. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+36.4s; 4. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+55.3s; 5. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 06.0s; 6. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+1m. 13.3s; 7. O. Tanak/M Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally)+1m. 14.1s; 8. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+1m. 14.8s; 9. G. Munster/L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1)+2m. 11.1s; 10. Y. Rossel/A. Dunand (Citroen C3 Rally2)+2m. 50.7s; 11. A. Cachon/B. Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+3m. 09.4s; 12. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+3m. 16.2s.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
17 minutes ago
- The Journal
Dessie Farrell steps down as Dublin manager after elimination from All-Ireland
The 42 DESSIE FARRELL HAS announced that he is stepping down as manager of the Dublin footballers. Farrell confirmed the news to GAA+ following his side's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Tyrone in Croke Park. It's the second second successive season that Dublin have exited the championship at the quarter-final stage. Advertisement He explained that he informed the players in the dressing room after the game and had already told the county board at the start of the year that this would be his last season in charge. BREAKING DESSIE FARRELL STEPS DOWN🚨 Dessie Farrell has just announced he is stepping down as Dublin Manager after today's Quarter-Final defeat to Tyrone. ❌ — GAA+ (@GAAPlusOfficial) June 28, 2025 It's the first time since their Sam Maguire winning season of 2021 that Tyrone have reached the semi-finals. Malachy O'Rourke's team timed their scoring run perfectly to settle a grinding contest pulling clear to win by seven in the end after a late burst of points. Written by Sinead Farrell and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won't find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women's sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here .
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Ohio heat a concern for both Ireland and USA
Republic of Ireland manager Carla Ward says the expected heat in Cincinatti, Ohio on Sunday will be a major concern for her and USA counterpart Emma Hayes' teams as they prepare to face off again in a second friendly international. The Girls in Green lost 4-0 to the world number one side in Denver, Colorado in the first friendly on Thursday where the heat and altitude proved a major challenge. Temperatues are expected to be at least in the high 20s Celsius on Sunday in Cincinatti for the second encounter (8pm kick off Irish time, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player) which will again make things difficult for Ireland. "If I sat here and said I wasn't concerned, I'd be lying. I'm obviously very concerned, I think, not just myself, but I think Emma (Hayes) is as well," Ward told RTÉ soccer correspondent Tony O'Donoghue. "We both understand that this is a difficult time to play. It's a difficult heat to play in. I think you've seen in the Champions Club World Cup even that you know Atletico players have come out, Trent (Alexander-Arnold) has come out, everyone's come out talking about how tough it can be and we have to really, really be careful and look after players. "We have to manage it, we have to make sure there are water breaks, we have to do the best we can to look after players because, look, I'm walking around and we're setting up and you can feel it here, right? "Even in the shade, its's unbearable. So me being me on players first, and we have to do everything we possibly can to make sure they're hydrated. Do we look after them and if that means the good old, send the goalkeeper down just to breathe and get them some water? We absolutely will." Ward had already indicated that Denise O'Sullivan and Megan Campbell would unlikely to be fit for the Cincinatti leg of the friendly double-header, having missed the first game, and the manager said Shamrock Rovers' veteran midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn had also emerged as a doubt. "Ruesha, after the other night, is a huge doubt and probably unlikely to play too many minutes," said Ward. "Erin Healy we're assessing because she had limited minutes the other night, but should be okay for some minutes and then there are a few others that (we) will just have to really carefully manage." As for the benefits of the two games against the USA - with October's Nations League play-off tie versus Belgium to come in October as a consideration - Ward said the squad and coaching staff had plenty of takeaways to learn from. "I think the trip's been so valuable. It really has," she said. "From a culture point of view, from a learning point of view, you know, really deep diving into it, adding the layers what we want to do for October. "That's been really important. I think the first game added a lot of value. Look, I'm not sure about tomorrow, obviously, because it's a completely different kettle of fish. I'll have to answer you that after the game. My priority is getting the players through safely."
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
What time and channel is Ireland's friendly against the USA on Sunday?
Ireland are back in action against the USA on Sunday - fresh from the heavy 4-0 defeat to the same opposition in the early hours of Friday morning. The two games provide head coach Carla Ward with one last opportunity to put her players through the paces ahead of the Nations League play-off against Belgium in October. The Girls in Green will take on Belgium home and away, with the winner securing League A status for the World Cup qualifiers. For the losers, it's the second tier. Ireland slumped to a heavy defeat against the US in Colorado, with the goals coming from Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson. On Sunday night they face the USA again, this time in Cincinnati. Here are the details ahead of that clash: You won't have to be a night owl to watch this one, unlike the first game, which took place in the early hours of Friday morning. Kick-off is at 8pm Irish time. Having played first in Colorado, Carla Ward's side have travelled 2,000km east to Cincinnati and the TQL Stadium. The first game was only streamed on RTÉ Player, however this time you have the option to watch it on terrestrial TV, with RTÉ2 broadcasting live. Ward will have to do without Megan Campbell (ankle) and Denise O'Sullivan (knee), but she has added Erin McLaughlin to the squad. Referee Janeishka Caban hails from Puerto Rico, while her assistants are Mijensa Rensch (Suriname) and Katherine Prescod (Panama). The fourth official, Melinda Homa, is from the USA. The USA have won all 16 previous meetings between these two teams, scoring 55 goals and conceding just one. US-born Michelle O'Brien is the only ever Irish goalscorer in these fixtures. Sept 1999: USA 5-0 Ireland (Foxboro Stadium, Massachusetts) June 2003: USA 5-0 Ireland Rice-Eccles Stadium, Utah) Oct 2004: USA 5-1 Ireland (Solider Field, Illinois) Oct 2004: USA 5-0 Ireland (Reliant Stadium, Texas) July 2006: USA 5-0 Ireland (Torero Stadium, California) Sept 2008: USA 2-0 Ireland (Lincoln Financial Field, Pennsylvania) Sept 2008: USA 1-0 Ireland (Giants Stadium, New Jersey) Sept 2008: USA 2-0 Ireland (Toyota Park, Illinois) Nov 2012: USA 5-0 Ireland (Jeld-Wen Field, Oregon) Dec 2012: USA 2-0 Ireland (University of Phoenix Stadium, Arizona) May 2015: USA 3-0 Ireland (Avaya Stadium, California) Jan 2016: USA 5-0 Ireland (Qualcomm Stadium, California) Aug 2019: USA 3-0 Ireland (Rose Bowl, California) Apr 2023: USA 2-0 Ireland (Q2 Stadium, Texas) Apr 2023: USA 1-0 Ireland (CITYPARK, Missouri) June 2025: USA 4-0 Ireland (Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Colorado)
