Josh McErlean says his World Rally Championship (WRC) future should become clear in the next couple of weeks as negotiations around next season continue. The Kilrea driver ended his second season in the top-flight ninth in the points’ standings, helped along by sixth place finishes at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece and Rally del Paraguay.
Any deal is set to hinge on backing from Motorsport Ireland’s Rally Academy and founding member, John Coyne, who has been a big supporter of the 27-year-old ever since he was named the Billy Coleman Award winner. “I know that John and the Academy are in talks,” said McErlean, “and obviously there are conversations being had across the service park. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, we will know a bit more – the earlier the better.
“It has been a real rollercoaster of a year, and I am incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to compete in Rally1 for two seasons. There’s been some difficult moments, but also some special ones, and I have learned so much from everyone,” he continued.
Rally Italia Sardegna also heralded the end of the current ruleset, as the FIA sanctioned series ushers in a fresh formula that is attracting different approaches from both new and existing teams. In the case of M-Sport – the Cumbria-based squad McErlean has represented since last year – it is swapping the Puma with the smaller Fiesta, with this being updated from Rally2 to Rally1 specification.
That decision – and Ford’s return to the WRC in an official capacity next year for the first time since 2012 – has intensified McErlean’s hopes that an agreement can be reached. “Yes, I think so,” said McErlean, when asked if he felt he was a good fit for the Fiesta, “and now that Ford is returning it would be good to remain involved with them. I think there is a lot of potential, especially as they are using the Fiesta, which has a really good chassis.”
Contract negotiations are also likely to involve McErlean’s compatriot Jon Armstrong who also finds himself out of work. The Fermanagh man ended a character-building campaign with M-Sport by completing a bruising Rally Italia Sardegna seventh overall alongside co-driver Shane Byrne.
