McErlean all set as WRC switches to high-speed Rally Estonia

Having completed the World Rally Championship’s recent run of arduous and technical gravel rallies, in Portugal, Sardinia and Greece, Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy face a completely different challenge this weekend on the fast-paced, undulating roads of Rally Estonia.

The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy duo form part of a three-car M-Sport Ford World Rally Team entry for the 20-stage event. Estonia marks a return to ultra-fast gravel after a string of technical events – a key inflection point as crew embarks on the second half of WRC’s 2025 calendar.

The Rally1 rookies proved their persistence and determination on June’s Acropolis Rally, battling through punctures and suspension damage to complete Greece’s gravel epic.

McErlean will have to recalibrate his driving style to suit Estonia’s flat-out, crest-filled gravel stages. The mid-summer event will be a yet another challenge for the 26-year-old in his debut season driving M-Sport’s Ford Puma Rally1.

The Irishman has competed on Rally Estonia twice before, finishing third in WRC2 Junior during his first visit in 2022.

“The priority is to deliver a clean rally,” says McErlean. “We want to apply everything we learned from the year so far, from car set-up to tyre management and adapting to conditions, to continue building our experience and 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.”

County Tyrone co-driver Aaron Johnston will also be present on Rally Estonia’s top-tier timesheets alongside Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta. The Toyota Yaris Rally1 duo is no stranger to Estonia’s rapid roads and will be hoping for a top result to move closer to the top five in WRC’s standings.

Based in Tartu, Rally Estonia’s 308 competitive kilometres of action take in familiar stages like Otepaa, Kanepi, and Mustvee, with the Tartu Vald super-special getting the rally underway on Thursday night.

Closer to home, three MI Rally Academy co-drivers will do battle in Class 2 at Sunday’s Sligo Stages Rally. Darragh Mullen will continue his National Rally Championship campaign alongside Oran England following the pair’s podium on the Ravens Rock Rally earlier this month.

Junior ERC contender Ayrton Sherlock switches his usual seat in the Peugeot 208 Rally4 of Keelan Grogan for fellow Galway driver Dylan O’Donoghue’s Ford Fiesta.

Killian Mc Ardle, who recently secured his first ERC3 podium of the season, finishing third alongside Casey Jay Coleman, will also participate in Sunday’s Sligo Stages Rally, this weekend sitting in with Micky Cahill in a Mark 2 Escort.