Irish Crews Shine on Punishing Acropolis Rally Greece
Irish co-drivers and crews delivered a string of standout performances on a bruising Acropolis Rally Greece, with podium success for County Tyrone’s Aaron Johnston and career-best WRC results for Josh McErlean, Eoin Treacy, Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne.
Takamoto Katsuta, co-driven by Fintona’s Johnston, finished third overall for Toyota after a measured and consistent drive across one of the championship’s toughest events. Running second on the road on Friday, the pair avoided major trouble and steadily climbed from ninth to secure a double podium finish for Toyota.
In WRC2, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto, partnered by Cavan’s James Fulton, showed strong pace with several top-five stage times and a maiden Power Stage win, despite punctures leaving the crew 10th in class.
Katsuta said it was “very good to finish on the podium after such a tough rally”, adding that the crew’s plan to avoid problems “worked out very well”. Yamamoto said the event had been a valuable lesson in managing rough conditions, calling the Power Stage victory “really nice” reward for the team’s pace.
For M-Sport, Kilrea’s Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy produced the best result of their WRC careers, finishing fourth overall after a determined weekend-long fight in punishing heat and rough road conditions.
McErlean began Friday strongly, immediately emerging as the fastest M-Sport car and moving into contention near the front of the field. Through Saturday, he and Treacy held their nerve in a fierce battle for fourth, even after a broken front-right damper forced a roadside repair that threatened to derail their rally.
The breakthrough came on Sunday when Adrien Fourmaux suffered a puncture, promoting McErlean to fourth. A brief off-road moment cost around 30 seconds, but the Irish crew recovered and held their position through the Power Stage to seal a landmark result.
“It’s been really important to get a result like this — for me and Eoin, and for the team,” McErlean said. “It was a very challenging weekend with the rocks and the puncture risk, but we’re very happy. It’s the best result we’ve had so far.”
Kesh driver Jon Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne also made their mark, taking a maiden WRC stage win on SS5 after briefly climbing to third overall on Friday morning.
Their charge was halted by two punctures and a turbo-related loss of power, forcing retirement for the day. The pair returned on Saturday, running first on the road and rebuilding momentum before completing the rally 20th overall.
Armstrong said the weekend was “a case of what might have been”, but took encouragement from the pace shown before trouble struck. “There are still plenty of positives to take away,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the fast gravel rallies now and seeing what we can do there.”