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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Automotive
- 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. Throughout the nine stage where tyre choice was difficult, he traded times with late entry Donegal's David Kelly (VW Polo GTi R5), who led twice. At the final service, Doherty held sway by 2.5s before taking a 2.4s advantage into the final stage where Kelly, who had previously narrowed the deficit to 0.8s had an altercation that took a wheel off his VW Polo GTi R5, temporarily blocking the stage. Doherty went on to finish 10.9s ahead of the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Donegal's Declan Boyle, whose son Michael, also in a Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, wad 14.2s behind in third. There was early drama when pre-event and joint championship leader Josh Moffett rolled his Hyundai R5 into retirement on SS1 where Donegal's Kevin Eves (Ford Fiesta Rally2) also crashed out. Sam Moffett was amongst the non-starters. Elsewhere, Omagh's Cathan McCourt (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) won the Banbridge based R Kings Down Rally, that dovetailed as rounds of the Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship and the Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship. Fastest on six of the day's eight stages, he finished 58.6s ahead of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 of Carryduff's Jonny Greer, that ran with a 32mm restrictor, Jersey driver Sam Touzel (Ford Fiesta Rally2), who was third, took maximum points to lead the UK Asphalt series. Delfi Rally Estonia (Round 8, World Rally Championship) Tartu: 1. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)2h. 36m. 35.1s; 2. O. Tänak/M. Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+25.2s; 3. T. Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+48.3s; 4. K. Rovanperä/ J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+55.6s; 5. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+1m. 33.0s; 6. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m. 43.4s; 7. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+2m. 55.6s; 8. M. Sesks/R. Francis (Ford Puma Rally1)+3m. 36.0s; 9. J. McErlean/E. Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 29.8s; 10. G. Munster/L. Louka (Ford Puma Rally1)+5m. 57.5s. World Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings (After Round 8): 1. O. Tanak 162pts; 2. E. Evans 161pts; 3. S. Ogier 141pts; 4. K. Rovanpera 138pts; 5. T. Neuville 114pts; 6. A. Fourmaux 71pts; 7. T. Katsuta 63pts; 8. O. Solberg 52pts; 9. S. Pajari 38pts; 10. 10. G. Munster 19pts; 11. J. McErlean 14pts. World Rally Manufacturers' Championship Standings (After Round 8):1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 399pts; 2, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 347pts; 3. M-Sport Ford WRT 111pts; 4. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 68pts. Sligo Rally (Round 5, Triton Showers National Rally Championship) Sligo: 1. E. Doherty/T. Murphy (Skoda Fabia R5) 49m. 55.8s; 2. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+10.9s; 3. M. Boyle/D. McCafferty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+25.1s; 4. J. Dickson/M. Brady (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+47.1s; 5. D. Henry/D. O'Sullivan (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+53.4s; 6. P. Barrett/D. Kelly (Citroen C3 Rally2)+1m. 07.7s; 7. M. Boyle/G. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 08.5s; 8. G. Kiernan/J. McCabe (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 19.2s; 9. D. Gass/N. Shanks (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 49.0s; 10. A. McIntyre/P. O'Callaghan (Toyota Starlet)+2m. 32.1s. R Kings Down Rally (Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship) Banbridge, Co. Down: 1. C. McCourt/B. McNulty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 52m. 26.9s; 2.J. Greer/N. Burns (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+58.6s; 3. S. Touzel/M. Freeman (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+1m. 15.7s; 4. M. Kelly/W. Atkins (VW Polo GTi R5)+1m. 23.8s; 5. A. McLaughlin/K. McLaughlin (VW Polo GTi R5)+3m. 04.4s; 6. N. Roskell/R. Fagg (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+3m. 05.4s; 7. C. Wilson/K. McDaid (Hyundai i20 R5)+3m. 45.9s; 8. B. Cole/D. Petrie (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+3m. 50.2s; 9. M. Toner/A. Rankin (Proton Satria)+4m. 22.8s; 10. L. Edwards/S. Spencer (Ford Escort G3)+4m. 35.9s. 2025 Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship (Positions after Round 5): 1. S. Touzel 114pts; 2. Jason Pritchard 110pts; 3. N. Roskell 107pts; 4. Brad Cole 93pts; 5. John Stone 87pts.
Irish Examiner
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Spike Island Drift homecoming for fast and furious Shanahan
Accustomed to wowing crowds all over the world, Red Bull athlete Conor Shanahan is looking forward to showcasing his motoring talents this Saturday on Spike Island, a once military fortress, notorious prison and now a stunning tourist destination within Cork Harbour that will host the Red Bull Drift Pursuit for sixteen of Ireland's top drifters in a head-to-head knockout format. Shanahan and his brother Jack will perform demonstration runs in their Toyota GT86 as will Irish WRC driver Josh McErlean in the Red Bull liveried M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car. Killavullen native Shanahan and current leader of the European Drift Masters Championship isn't chasing the dream anymore - only because he's already realised his boyhood ambition. His racing schedule involves competing in Europe and America, the latter where he owns and runs his own team that also involves his older brother Jack. His choice of motorsport as a career isn't surprising given that he was raised on the sounds of high performance engines. His family are steeped in motorsport, dad John was (or should we say still is) a popular figure in rallying and his mom Valerie won the British Autograss Championship. Conor (left) and Jack Shanahan at the Drift Masters European Championship in Madrid, Spain. Picture: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool. He describes those early days habitually verbalised by his recent times in America and the constant use of the phrase "I guess" rather than the more frequently used motorsport term "for sure. "I actually enjoyed school, I guess the atmosphere; figuring out my life as I got older; trying to understand the arguments with my mother at the bottom of the stairs about do I want to go to school? I guess I always knew I wanted to do something with a skill. At that stage, I guess I didn't really know whether it was rallying or drifting or circuit racing, I was massively into karting at the time." That vision accelerated when he attended secondary school. "I guess towards the end of national school, I knew I was definitely going to be involved in motorsport. I started secondary school (Davis College, Mallow) went (racing) to Europe when I was 14 and had a massive win. I was the youngest ever to win there and it was a huge night for me and my family. I beat James Deane (near neighbour) in the final. "After that I guess my vision started to change. I reckoned if I started to take this even more serious, I could be better. If I started training on a simulator more - all these things started to come into my head. I was trying to find a balance with school." Conor Shanahan (left) and Tor Arne Kvia perform during the Round 3 of Drift Masters European Championship in Alahärmä, Finland last month. Picture: Mihai Stetcu / Red Bull Content Pool . Transition year allowed Conor more time out of school and more time racing - a better life balance and a move closer to the ultimate decision. "I remember at the start of fifth year it was actually a very simple conversation I had with my mom and I said this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I guess she didn't agree with me leaving school. I looked at all the resources afterwards and I felt education in Ireland can be achieved no matter what, whether you go back at a later stage as a mature student. I always wanted to be self-employed and I always wanted to own my own business, that was my goal." He continued, "I met the school principal, and we had a conversation. The one thing I will always respect about Davis College is that Mr. Gilbert (the principal at the time) had a very good conversation with me and my mom. He never held me back, he said, if you think that you have something special, now is the time to go for it." Those words proved prophetic and made the transition somewhat easier for his mother to understand. "My dad was full in, I guess he was going to support me no matter what I wanted to do. I faded out of school and started to work towards becoming what I am now I guess." Admitting he always tried to figure ways to make money, he added, "I was always trying to learn marketing and business and understand the value of money, where different companies will spend money on drifting and trying to understand the market as much as I could." Conor Shanahan performing during the European Drift Masters at Mondello Park, Naas last weekend. Picture: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool. The business under 'The Shanahans' banner is very much a family affair as brother Jack also inherited the family's motorsport genes. "Jack and myself have a very good relationship, it's rare for two brothers to be at a very high level of sport and be as successful as each other and not kill each other! To be honest it's amazing for me that we can have that relationship and run a team together and drive together. We race each other hard we've always raced each other hard, the most impressive part is that we have a good friendship outside of being brothers." His recent competitive escapades took him to Orlando, Florida then back to Finland and home for some precious downtime with family and friends. He describes his itineraries as rapidly as he flicks his Toyota GT86 on the track. "At the moment it's more time in a plane than on the ground. There's not much time at home." Jack Shanahan (left) and his brother Conor seen during the final round of the 2023 Drift Masters European Championship in Warsaw, Poland. Picture: Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool . Such is his hectic schedule, he could be forgiven for bilocation. "I'm kind of based out of America and at home at the same time. It's non-stop. I spent the first three or four months of the year in the States, it was nice to get home and see my friends from Killavullen that I grew up with, nice to clear the head and do something different." He appreciates being part of the Red Bull family. "They have been amazing for my career. Outside of the financial factor they have pushed me in the right direction and I guess, be the best I can be at my sport. They're a huge fan of drifting, as are all the other companies that are involved with us. They are all very passionate about helping us to be the most successful in the sport." Although he enjoyed competing in the Rally of the Lakes earlier this year and won took a class award, he would only consider competing at the top level here in Ireland if the resources (financial package, testing) were to be put in place. "It's (rallying) not out front right now. If somebody was willing to get behind it on a financial level to be in a position where you're decently on the pace and in a Rally2 car, it would be a lot of testing, a lot of understanding of how the car works. I would be willing to give it a go, I definitely could get very fast if I had the right resources behind me." Right now though Conor is focused on Saturday's event that is a sell-out. "I hope it will open up a few doors to new spectators or new people to the sport. That's always the goal for me I guess. Drifting can be a little bit hard to understand until you see it in person and I think what Red Bull are doing with Drift Pursuit is a very good way for an audience to get a feeling of what a drift car is doing and have a race format. Kilavullen's Conor Shanahan (Toyota Starlet) and his Wexford co-driver Andy Hayes won Class 14 in the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes last May. Picture: Martin Walsh. "The fans are younger, the environment that people are around is something they can enjoy as a family, the kids are starting to know the characters. For sure Spike Island will definitely draw some new faces. "It's something that's never been done in Ireland or pretty much anywhere in the world. As always when Red Bull take a little bit of a risk with an event it's always absolutely amazing so I'm sure it's going to be incredible." For Conor himself, it's all part of a truly amazing and continuing journey that takes him all over the world with a little downtime in Killavullen.
The Irish Sun
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Irish WRC duo and their car are star guests at the MI Rally Academy J1000 Development Day at Mondello Park
THE recent Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy J1000 Development Day at Mondello Park was a huge success. There were 31 Junior 1000 competitors from the Motorsport Ireland Junior Rally Series and Forest Rally Championship taking part in the academy's latest development day with training workshops including driver, fitness, performance and equipment coaching. Advertisement And as an added bonus M-Sport's Ford Puma Rally1 was in attendance too, but not just as a centre piece to be enjoyed. Irish World Rally Championship duo Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy were also at Mondello offering passenger runs in this amazing machine. 4 WRC FUTURE STARS: WRC drivers Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy with MI Rally Academy founder John Coyne plus drivers from the FIA Rally pyramid and J1000 Credit: Darren Liggett I was invited along by Red Bull Ireland as both Josh and Eoin are athletes of the energy drink company, and I was one of the lucky punters who got to enjoy two very hot, but also very wet, laps around Mondello. Also on track was a Hyundai i20 Rally2, usually seen in action with MI Rally Academy founder and patron John Coyne at the wheel. Advertisement European Rally Championship contender Jon Armstrong did demonstration runs before academy members sampled Rally2 power on the slippery circuit. While the excitement of seeing McErlean power-slide his WRC car around Mondello's rain-soaked track unsurprisingly stole the show, there were a host of special guests and visitors present at the venue. The J1000 crews were joined by their friends and families as they rubbed shoulders with a host of media representatives, podcasters, influencers, Red Bull Ireland and national broadcaster RTE. As J1000 rallying in Ireland continues to go from strength to strength, with both entries and competitiveness increasing, the development day was another key step in recognising its importance to and close relationship with the MI Rally Academy. Advertisement Most read in Motors 4 LET LOOSE: M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 car going sideways in the wet around Mondello Credit: MI Rally Academy So as well as showcasing J1000 and the MI Rally Academy's WRC crew of McErlean and Treacy, another highlight was the first time the FIA's complete Rally Pyramid was on display in Ireland at the same time. Mondello was packed with Rally5 cars right up to the Rally1 Puma, and the teenage J1000 crews also got to bring their rally-specification hot-hatches to the event. The event was held a couple of days after the two-year anniversary of the passing of WRC driver Craig Breen, who was a great supporter of the MI Rally Academy. Advertisement So it was no surprise to see so many of the drivers all wearing 'Breenie' bobble hats in honour of their Irish rallying hero. With academy members competing in Rally4, Rally3, Rally2 and Rally1 championships this year, cars in attendance included Craig Rahill's front-running Junior European Rally Championship Peugeot 208 Rally4 as well as Coyne's Hyundai i20 Rally2. Coyne, who travelled over from his home in the USA for the special occasion, had been in action on the Moonraker Forest Rally four days earlier where he finished in 11th place. 4 DREAM TEAM: WRC driver Josh McErlean and his co-pilot Eoin Treacy pictured with Motorsport Ireland members Credit: MI Rally Academy Advertisement The 1982 Irish Tarmac Rally champion also finished fourth in the 1982 Circuit of Ireland Rally, one minute behind WRC legend Henri Toivonen, and ahead of Billy Coleman, Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen. Coyne was also in action in the i20 Rally2 on the Circuit of Ireland over the weekend along with MI Rally Academy co-driver Killian McArdle. And after Friday and Saturday's asphalt stages were complete they brought their i20 home in 18th. Speaking afterwards, Coyne said: 'Happy with 18th overall, 10th RC2 on my first tarmac rally in six years. After a one-minute-20-second off on SS1 we dropped to 69th overall. Advertisement Read more on the Irish Sun 'It took some time to gain confidence, but I'm happy that my pace improved steadily with our best stage result being 11th-fastest on SS10.' See: 4 GENERATION GAME: WRC driver Josh McErlean with MI Rally Academy founder and patron John Coyne Credit: MI Rally Academy
Irish Examiner
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Motorsport: Josh McErlean crash puts end to top 10 finish on Rally Islas Canarias
Josh McErlean's bid for a top ten finish on Rally Islas Canarias, round four of the World Rally Championship ended on the first stage of the final leg when he crashed his Ford Puma Rally1 against an Armco barrier. The event belonged to Finland's Kalle Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), who rediscovered their form and with fifteen stage wins (from eighteen stages) have moved from sixth in the series to second - behind their team mates and series leaders Welsh ace Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin. The Toyota Gazoo Racing Team locked out the top four places with Sebastien Ogier finishing 53.5s behind Rovanpera and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta and his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnson completing the top quartet. Saturday's leg saw Rovanpera tighten his grip on the rally with another masterful display as he continued to impose his authority that yielded six fastest times from the seven stages with a lead of 45.2s in a Toyota GR Yaris top four. Only series leader Elfyn Evans prevented Rovanpera from completing a clean sweep of top stage times over two days when he was best on the super special inside the Gran Canaria Arena. Sebastien Ogier consolidated second spot with Evans third. As the day concluded with Toyota holding the top five positions, Finland's Sami Pajari understeered into a wooden barrier on a left hander on the penultimate stage and damaged the front right wing of his Yaris. Katsuta subsequently inherited fourth to complete a Toyota top quartet. Rally leader Rovanpera said, "It's going really well, we made some really small changes to the car this afternoon and I felt even better than in the morning, so that was nice." Despite stalling on the final stage of the day, Adrien Fourmaux in fifth was best of the Hyundai outfit after both Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak continued to struggle with set-up issues. Gregoire Munster lost over three minutes when his Ford Puma Rally1 ran wide and beached itself and was eventually pushed back on the road by several spectators and combined with Pajari's retirement, saw McErlean/Treacy move into 10th. Following the morning opener McErlean said, "The surface was changing quite a lot there. Just tried to trust the grip and keep on learning. We had one surprise against an Armco." Later and with the car having difficulty turning-in, they disconnected the front anti-toll bar to improve the handling. But, it all went wrong after just 4.9km of the opening stage of the final leg when their Ford Puma Rally1 crashed into the Armco barrier. Apologising for his mistake, he said, "It's been difficult from the start, we began to make small progress over the three days with the whole package. It's a big shame what happened today, a little too-ambitious pacenote meant we carried too much speed and ran wide into an Armco. We have learnt a lot about the car and my own driving this weekend. I look forward to getting back on the gravel now and into more familiar territory, everything should come a little more naturally and we can push on from here.' Rovanpera took the maximum 35 points from the event. "It's quite amazing, it has not been the best start of the season, but we are definitely, at least in these kinds of conditions, we are back now. The cars were so fast. I enjoyed it - a super result for the whole team.' Evans' consistency gave him his fourth podium position in as many events. Hyundai struggled through the entire event with handling issues, apparently related to differential settings with Adrien Fourmaux their top finisher in fifth place - two minutes and 30s. behind Rovanpera. Tanak's car required an engine change on Saturday night. The Wexford/Waterford crew of Eamonn Boland/MJ Morrissey (Ford Fiesta Rally2) were 22nd in the RC2 category. Elsewhere. Wicklow's Max Hart (Hyundai Elantra N TCR) took a twelfth and seventh place finish in the two races of the TCR Europe Series with Italian outfit Target Competition at the opening round in Portimao. Rally Islas Canarias (Round 4, World Rally Championship) Gran Canaria: 1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h 54m 39.9s; 2. S. Ogier/V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+53.5s; 3. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m 17.1s; 4. T Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris RTally1)+1m 43.9s; 5. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+2m 31.0s; 6. O. Tanak/M Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally)+3m. 11.4s; 7. T Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+3m. 40.7s; 8. Y. Rossel/A. Dunand (Citroen C3 Rally2)+7m. 10.7s; 9. A. Cachon/B. Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+7m. 40.2s; N. Gryazin/K. Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+7m. 58.4s.
