To be fair, no one expected miracles from the team’s full-season drivers Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean, but as pay drivers, the baseline expectation was at least to complete rallies cleanly.
Munster’s best result so far has been fifth place in Kenya, but beyond that, his season has included plenty of misfortune. McErlean, in his first season driving a Rally1 car, has been paying his dues — in Monte Carlo, the Irishman finished seventh, and added an eighth place in Portugal, but otherwise has struggled.
At this week’s Acropolis Rally in Greece, M-Sport’s main objective is to simply get cars to the finish, no matter what. At the last round in Sardinia, Munster, McErlean, and Martins Sesks all retired on the same stage — the rally’s second special.
“Of course, we are looking to do better than in Sardinia. Although we aren’t testing in Greece, we used Saturday in Sardinia to get some ideas, and with those ideas we will start the rally in Greece and I’m quite confident we will do well with the package we have. W,” said Munster.
“We have done a lot of preparation with the engineers and so I feel well-equipped for this next challenge. Like Sardinia, the event will be a long and hot one, and there will definitely be opportunity to bring home a good result and we will aim to score some good points next week.”
McErlean also emphasised that survival is key. While no one expects heroics from M-Sport’s duo, if they can simply bring the car home cleanly, a strong finish might not be out of reach.
“Heading into the Acropolis Rally, the focus is on a clean and consistent performance. It’s no secret this event is one of the demanding ones on the calendar – the heat, the rough stages,” McErlean said.
“After the disappointment in Sardinia, I really want to deliver a solid result for the team. They’ve worked incredibly hard, and they deserve something to show for it. Our aim is to stay out of trouble, manage the conditions smartly, and hopefully come away with a strong, trouble-free rally.”
The Acropolis Rally features 17 special stages, covering approximately 345 kilometres.
