McErlean takes eighth as Rally Islas Canarias tests Irish crews…
Kilrea’s Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy finished eighth overall for M-Sport Ford on a fast, technical Rally Islas Canarias, as changeable conditions and tyre calls shaped a weekend of learning for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-linked crews.
Driving the Ford Puma Rally1, McErlean and Treacy combined pace with a clean run to secure a top-10 finish on the Spanish island event, while teammates Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne recovered from a series of scares to place 11th overall.
McErlean and Armstrong traded closely matched stage times throughout, showing growing confidence in the Puma as they benchmarked against each other and focused on building consistency rather than chasing outright speed.
Saturday and Sunday brought changeable weather and unpredictable grip, making tyre choice pivotal. All crews managed the uncertainty with composure, avoiding the mistakes that caught out others.
After a difficult Rally Croatia, McErlean arrived determined to deliver a clean, progressive drive and show his development across the season.
The response was immediate on Thursday night as the crew posted the fifth-fastest time on the opening super special stage in a packed stadium.
Friday was about settling into a rhythm, with McErlean and Armstrong running close as both prioritised consistency. McErlean ended the day ninth overall without incident.
The intra-team fight continued on Saturday as conditions and grip levels shifted. McErlean was quicker on several stages and, in SS14, prudently backed off after being warned Armstrong had run off ahead, still finishing the test within seconds of Thierry Neuville. He held ninth overnight with four stages to run.
McErlean started Sunday strongly, beating Armstrong and Dani Sordo on the first stage of the day in slippery conditions.
A clean run through the Power Stage, matched to Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux on time, confirmed eighth overall at the finish.
McErlean said: “It’s been a really positive weekend for us. We had a clean rally for once, which represents a big step up in performance compared to previous events. The team has done an excellent job, and I’m grateful for their patience and dedication in finding the improvements we needed. Battling throughout the stages has been enjoyable, and we’re looking forward to Portugal — a rally we really enjoy and where we hope to deliver a strong result.”
Armstrong and Byrne drew on previous experience of Gran Canaria’s smooth asphalt to make a tidy start on Friday, but low grip in damp conditions quickly raised the stakes.
An understeer moment in SS4 sent the Puma towards an escape road, allowing the crew to recover safely, though they dropped more than 30 seconds.
Further trouble followed in SS7 when Armstrong went wide and clipped the armco, causing minor damage before service. A driveshaft issue later left the car in front-wheel drive for the stadium stage, but the crew fought through to end Friday 11th overall.
Saturday began positively, with Armstrong going 3.3 seconds quicker than Dani Sordo on the opening stage to move into 10th.
He then adopted a cautious approach as rain and changing conditions arrived, while intercom issues in SS12 added to the challenge.
In SS14, Armstrong ran wide and ended up in the scenery, narrowly avoiding the armco. With help from spectators he rejoined, but the delay cost more than two minutes and dropped the crew to 16th.
Armstrong took a measured approach on Sunday, running within a second of McErlean on SS16 before setting the faster time on the next stage.
A final push in the Power Stage delivered the seventh-fastest time, 2.8 seconds quicker than Fourmaux, helping Armstrong climb to 11th overall.
Armstrong said: “It’s been quite a tricky weekend. Coming here from Croatia, which was also quite tough and twisty, I thought it should be okay, but I probably underestimated the challenge of the rally in terms of all the consecutive corners — the tyre gets very hot and there’s not so much grip on the tarmac. We struggled to be in a good rhythm and have good speed, which is frustrating. I made some mistakes trying to learn the tyre because it’s a bit different from what we had in previous ERC seasons. I’m grateful to get to the finish and still learn as much as we can. We’ll try to pick ourselves back up for Portugal.”
Elsewhere
Takamoto Katsuta, partnered by Fintona co-driver Aaron Johnston, arrived in the Canaries leading the drivers’ championship for the first time and improved his pace to finish fourth, 10.4 seconds behind Sami Pajari. Katsuta was second to Elfyn Evans on the Power Stage and fourth in Super Sunday.
“This rally started with a very difficult Friday for me,” stated Katsuta. “But it got a lot better on Saturday and I was starting to feel much more comfortable with the car. I was still struggling a bit to get the best from the tyres, but today on the final day I tried to change my driving style a bit and it was working better and we could take some good points. There’s still more to improve, but it’s going in the right direction at least and I have a good idea how to improve my driving for asphalt, which will be important with Rally Japan coming.”
Cavan co-driver James Fulton finished 26th overall, navigating for Japan’s Yuki Yamamoto in a GR Yaris Rally2. A puncture on Saturday, caused after clipping the guardrail, cost significant time, but added the crew had shown encouraging pace and knew where they could improve for the next asphalt outing.
Cookstown’s Philip Allen, with Welsh co-driver Craig Drew, also contested the WRC round in a GR Yaris Rally2 on top of his European Rally Championship programme. Adapting from Michelin to Hankook tyres proved difficult, and although the crew repaired a heavy crash from Saturday’s opening test to restart, a more substantial accident on the penultimate stage ended their rally.