McErlean aims for 'proper performance' in second WRC season

This time last year, Josh McErlean had just been handed his dream opportunity to drive in the top tier of the World Rally Championship.

Driving for M-Sport, the underdogs of rallying, a late deal and a lack of testing meant it was a full baptism of fire.

Now, he's back for a sophomore season with a clearer picture of all the challenges that lie ahead.

"It was straight into the deep end with a full championship, full of challenges and many different countries, many different terrains," the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland said.

"It had the ups and downs you would expect in a rookie year of WRC, but we showed some good pace in places and other places we struggled.

"It's quite a different situation than this time last year, where everything was brand new with the team, the car and the co-driver.

"But it's all the same package this year and we're excited to get going."

• Knocks, eSports & McRae - the rise of the WRC's new underdog
• McErlean and Armstrong secure M-Sport WRC drives
• How McErlean is preparing for 'the Formula 1 of rallying'

After getting to grips with his Ford Puma Rally 1, McErlean soon found his feet and had a best finish of seventh across three rounds in Monte Carlo on debut, Finland and the Central European Rally.

M-Sport are the only independent team in the WRC, compared to the manufacturers of Toyota and Hyundai. By the end of the season, McErlean was often the leading driver in the team ahead of the more established Gregoire Munster, and was mixing stage times with the manufacturer drivers and teams.

"From there, the expectation kind of grew and you want it more and more, and that's what we want in the sport," McErlean said.

"It's a positive to take away in your rookie season, but now you want to step it up and show proper performance in places where you know you can, and build the consistency in others.

"It's a general rule trying to balance that risk and reward. Each rally you go to, obviously the approach can become different and that's part of the sport.

"This year we have an overall expectation of the championship. You know when to push and when not to, and how much the car can take."

Having natural speed is one thing, but rallying is a sport where there is no substitute for experience.

You need to look no further than Korean manufacturer Hyundai, who have five drivers this season ranging from 30 years of age up to 42.

At 26, McErlean is still very much in his formative years at the top level, but even one year of experience can make all the difference.

One key aspect is having ready-made pace notes for his co-driver Eoin Treacy to read out, while McErlean focuses on driving at high speed. It's the combination of "ultimate trust".

"It's massive, honestly," he said on having one year under his belt.

"We're going to Monte Carlo now in a couple of weeks' time and you have pace notes from last year in a Rally One car, the exact same car we were in this year.

"Each round you go to, no matter where it is, you have some sort of baseline that you have from previous years.

"That's massive in this sport because experience is everything and to bring that into a second year is something I'm very grateful of."

Armstrong 'deserves his chance'

While last year it was McErlean who was the rookie, this year he will be joined by debutant Jon Armstrong, who also comes from Northern Ireland.

It is the first time two drivers from the island of Ireland have competed at the top level of the sport since 2018, when Kris Meeke and the late Craig Breen lined out for Citroen.

Armstrong's pace as a driver has never been in doubt ever since he first broke onto the European scene in 2015, but he has often lacked the financial backing to progress his career.

After winning the WRC's eSports title in 2018, he returned to real-life rallying and was runner-up in Junior WRC in 2021 and 2022, and was second overall after a stunning end to the season in the European Rally Championship last year.

As McErlean says, the 31-year-old "deserves a chance at the top flight" as Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy expand their partnership with M-Sport in the WRC to two cars.

It will be a relatively inexperienced partnership, especially compared to rivals, but one with plenty of potential.

"Growing up, Jon was always a step ahead in the rallying ladder," McErlean said.

"As things progressed throughout the sport we were kind of at different levels and then he had a gap to focus in the sim racing.

"He came back when we were a bit ahead on the ladder, and now he's caught up and I think we're both in level places now."

McErlean pointed to Armstrong's natural pace on tarmac - which he compares to "our weakest side last year" - and says he'll be a "good team-mate to have" as they learn from one each other.

"As a person I actually don't know him that well because he's lived in England for so long now, but he's a good guy.

"We've obviously been working together towards the back end of last year, and now through the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, everyone's building together and sharing information."

As he enters his second year at the top level, McErlean says he wants to keep progressing but his aim is to show "good performance".

"You want to be be one of the fastest Fords throughout the year, there's no doubt about that there.

"Some top five results, maybe even top three results and some fastest stage times would be would be the aim."