Latest news with #Kilrea
Irish Examiner
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy up to 10th after first leg of Delfi Rally Estonia
Having finished Thursday night's opener in Delfi Rally Estonia - round eight of the World Rally Championship - in thirteenth place, Josh McErlean declared: "You need big commitment in this rally." 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.
Irish Examiner
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Rally Estonia 'a real benchmark' for McErlean
Motorsport So far, as their maiden Rally1 journey continues within the top tier of the World Rally Championship, the Irish crew of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy seem to perform better on gravel surface and this weekend's Delfi Rally Estonia, one of the fastest gravel rallies in the WRC, awaits as they continue what is still a learning experience. McErlean, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Wednesday has only one previous experience of Estonia - in 2023 when he drove a Hyundai i20 Rally2 to an eighth place category finish. 'Rally Estonia is a real benchmark for pace and commitment - fast roads, big jumps and no room for hesitation. It's an incredible feeling driving these roads and one I've been looking forward to ever since stepping into the Puma Rally1. Every kilometre is a chance to grow, and I'm keen to keep pushing, learning and showing what we can do.' Last time out, a succession of punctures, suspension damage and only front-wheel drive for a time, gave them a torrid time on the Acropolis Rally Greece. "That was one of the toughest tests we've faced, physically and mentally. But it showed us where we can improve and what we're capable of overcoming. Now it's about taking those learnings and applying them to a much faster rally like Estonia.' Outlining the plan, he concluded, 'The priority is to deliver a clean rally, we want to apply everything we learned from Greece, from car set-up to tyre management and adapting to conditions, to rebuild our momentum. Estonia is a place I enjoy, but mistakes here are costly, especially with how precise you need to be. Estonia has no room for errors on the stages'. With some 308 stage kilometres until Sunday, the Kilrea driver and his Killeagh co-driver will have plenty to keep them busy to attain their quest including Saturday's infamous Otepaa stage with its equally renowned jump and Sunday's all-new Power Stage - Kaariku. While championship leader, Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) doesn't have his team mate and nearest challenger Sebastien Ogier snapping at his heels on this occasion, the presence of former event winners Ott Tanak (Hyundai 120 N Rally1) and Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) will chase the Welshman hard. Tanak's victory on the Acropolis Rally Greece has put him right back in contention, closing the gap to Evans twelve points, victory in his local event (he won in 2020) would continue to ramp up his bid. Tomorrow (Saturday) Omagh's Cathan McCourt (Skoda Fabia Rally2), outgoing NI champion Caryduff's Jonny Greer (Toyota Yaris Rally2) and Muff's Joe McGonigle (Citroen C3 Rally2) headline the R Kings Down Rally that brings the curtain down on the Brown & Brown Northern Ireland Rally Championship. The eight-stage event is also a counter for the UK National Asphalt series where Jersey driver Sam Touzel (Ford Fiesta Rally2) could inherit top spot in the absence of series leader Jason Pritchard. Others in the top ten include newly crowned NI champion Donegal's Aaron McLaughlin (VW Polo GTi R5) and Kinallen's Stuart Biggerstaff (Ford Fiesta Rally2). The first stage starts at 9.30am. Meanwhile, having lost the lead of the Triton Showers National Rally Championship to the Moffett brothers (Josh and Sam) some two weeks ago on the Raven's Rock Rally, Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty (Skoda Fabia R5) has a quick opportunity for reparation on Sunday's Sligo Rally, the fifth round of the series. Power steering issues whilst holding a sizeable lead meant Doherty only gleamed a solitary point from the Waterford based event. As the top seed in what is a capacity entry Doherty will aim to cut the ten points deficit to the Moffett duo, who are joint leaders of the series. Sam will steer the newer model Hyundai as Josh stays faithful to the R5 variant. The other main championship contenders are Derry's Desi Henry (Ford Fiesta Rally2) and Declan Boyle (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2). Others in the top ten are Donegal's Michael Boyle (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) and Kevin Eves (Ford Fiesta Rally2), Armagh's Darren Gass (VW Polo GTi R5) and Maynooth's Paul Barrett (Citroen C3 Rally2). The first of the day's nine stages (Ladies Brae) is at 10.07am.
Irish Examiner
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
McErlean and Treacy finish eighth in Portugal
Motorsport With the best performance of their maiden WRC Rally1 season, Kilrea's Josh McErlean and Killeagh's Eoin Treacy brought their M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 home in eighth place in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal, the fifth round of the World Rally Championship. Gradually building their pace over the 23 stages and watched by some half a million spectators over three days, the Irish duo were the top-performing M-Sport Ford crew. The rally was won by French driver Sebastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) for a record seventh time as the Toyota team notched a sixth successive victory in Portugal. Estonian Ott Tanak was controlling proceedings until his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 lost time on Saturday's penultimate stage that dropped him to third. He recovered to finish second, 8.7s behind Ogier and 3.5s ahead of Finland's Kalle Rovanpera (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). Tanak struggled on Saturday's opening three stages, suffering a puncture on SS13 some six kilometres from the stage end. Nevertheless, he managed to retain the lead - 11.8s ahead of Ogier with Rovanpera a further 24s behind in third. Tanak remained in control and increased his lead over Ogier to 13.9s but it went awry on the day's penultimate test (Amarante2) when his Hyundai developed a power steering issue midway through the 22.1km test. He dropped some 45s and slipped to third. Eight-time world champion Ogier inherited top spot and ended the penultimate leg with a 27.6s lead over his Toyota Gazoo Racing team mate Kalle Rovanpera with the unfortunate Tanak 8.5s further behind in third. 'It's not the way you want to win any fight,' said Ogier. 'We were both pushing really hard - that's the game." Tanak said, 'It's part of the game, I guess. Very unfortunate, but we gave everything from our side.' Rovanpera eclipsed teammate Takamoto Katsuta on SS14, the latter then dropping behind Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, who slotted into fourth on the penultimate stage. Having lost time on Friday as he opened the roads, championship leader Elfyn Evans struggled to find any rhythm even though he had a better road position, he was seventh - 17.5s behind team mate Sami Pajari. McErlean/Treacy moved up to eighth, edging past M-Sport Ford team mate Gregoire Munster on the opening stage with the margin increasing to 28.5s at the end of the leg. "I think you have to do a mind shift to not care, but obviously you want to protect the car and try to get the experience, so it's kind of the balance between saving it and going at it." said McErlean. Tanak won all but the first of Sunday's six stages, in the process reeling in Rovanpera for second as he claimed ten extra championship points, five each from Super Sunday and the Power Stage. Sixth placed Evans still leads the series - 30 points from Rovanpera. At the finish McErlean added, "Crazy rally as always, so nice to come to the finish and have some good times as well. Big thanks to the whole team, because four cars (M-Sport) without any problems is some achievement." Oliver Solberg (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) won the WRC2 category, his seventh such victory in the category. Donegal's Eamonn Kelly and Monaghan's Conor Mohan (Ford Fiesta Rally3) were as high as second in the Junior WRC category until a double puncture cost them time, they eventually finished seventh. Meanwhile, the Irish pairing of Killarney's Alan Ring and Newcestown's Adrian Deasy took the Munster Joinery liveried BMW M3 to a sixth place finish in Rallye d'Antibes Historic Rally, a counting round of the European Historic Rally Championship. They made a fine start to the nine stage rally and occupied second overall after the opening stage 10.23km stage. Weather conditions posed a tough challenge as they varied considerably from the service park to the stages that were some 50km away. They finished Friday's leg in eighth spot and made up two places on Saturday's stages. The legendary Jari-Matti Latvala took a lead of a minute a minute and 6.5s into the final stage where his Toyota Celica ST185 suffered an electrical glitch that forced his retirement with French driver Tom Pieri (BMW M3 E30) best placed to take advantage.
