Josh McErlean hails job well done at Rally de Portugal: ‘It's been a really nice weekend and we have loved every moment of it'
Remarkably, despite the notoriously rough nature of the competitive route, the 25-year-old reported no major problems with his car, with this boding well for the next round in Sardinia from June 5 to 8.
'Honestly, it has been a really nice weekend and we have loved every moment of it,' reflected McErlean, whose resilience was rewarded with four morale-boosting World Rally Championship points.
'It has been a crazy rally as always; it is so nice to come to the finish clean and with some good times as well.
'It has been a very long and demanding weekend for car and crew, and to finish as the first Puma home is really nice.
'We learned a lot with the car and the tyres, and we will look to bring that forward into the Sardinia test this Wednesday, so we are straight back into it – there is not time for much rest, really.
'We took an approach this weekend that we wouldn't do so much on changing the car set-up.
'The other two guys, Gregoire and Martins Sesks, did a lot, but we largely stayed as we were and it worked out.'
Co-driven by Vincent Landais, Ogier completed the four-day gravel classic 8.7 seconds up on Hyundai's Ott Tänak, with double World Rally champion Kalle Rovanpera a further 3.5 seconds back in third.
Meanwhile, Kris Meeke's hard luck story at Rally de Portugal continued into a third successive year as suspension failure brought his 100 per cent win record in the Portuguese Championship to an end.
Despite an incorrect tyre choice for the opening loop of four stages and picking up a puncture on stage six, Meeke and Stuart Loudon in their Sports & You Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 looked nailed on for victory.
However, the harsh nature of the Iberian gravel roads eventually told when the left-rear corner on the Japanese supermini collapsed a few kilometres from the end of Friday's final stage.
Although they crawled through 'Sever-Albergaria', they were unable to complete the 62-mile road section back to the city of Porto, meaning they relinquished top spot to Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Pedro Almeida.
'The Yaris was perfect again, and the proof of that was the lead we managed to create throughout the day, but this wasn't the finish we wanted,' said Meeke, who is back in action at Rali de Castelo Branco on the weekend of June 13 and 14.
'Rallies are just like that, unfortunately. We know that we have an excellent car and an excellent team – and we are going to come back strong in the next round.'
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