Last season, he was often labelled the laughing stock of the WRC service park. While perfect performances are still missing, Munster has shown in the first three rounds of this season that he could fight for podiums as the year progresses.
Munster set fastest stage times in both Monte Carlo and Kenya. In Africa, he matched his career-best result with a fifth-place finish, and now he aims to do even better. He’s proven to be comfortable on tarmac, having finished fifth in both the Central European and Japanese rallies at the end of last season.
The brand-new Rally Canary Islands, which begins on Friday morning, will be run on tarmac and offer drivers a circuit-style experience. With hardly any cuts, the drivers will enjoy clean asphalt roads.
“I’m really looking forward to Gran Canaria! We didn’t really have an event like this on Tarmac last year that was like proper racing, with a really stiff car, wide roads and high grip, so I’m excited to try to push the car to the maximum on these roads,” Munster enthuses.
“We have such a variety of events in the championship, for example going from the icy Monte stages, to Sweden and then Kenya, and this is now our first proper tarmac event in 2025.”
It’s clear that pace notes will play an extremely important role in this rally. Munster has previous experience of the Canary Islands rally from five years ago, but many drivers will be competing on the island for the first time.
“We need to have perfect pace notes and I’m looking forward to getting out on the stages. Hopefully the weather will be better than it is in Belgium!,” Munster laughs.
Like Munster, M-Sport’s other Rally1 driver, Josh McErlean, also competed in the Canary Islands back in 2020. However, the Irishman is still a complete novice behind the wheel of a Rally1 car, so expectations should be tempered.
“Monte Carlo gave me my first taste of what a Rally1 car can do on a sealed surface, but Rally Islas Canarias is different, it’s full on, proper, smooth tarmac. The goal this weekend is to build on what I learned there from Monte,” McErlean says.
“I really need to trust the aero, downforce and grip these cars can create. These roads demand precision and commitment, and I’m excited for that.”
