Although McErlean’s best result of the season so far is a seventh place at the Monte Carlo Rally, those backing the 25-year-old M-Sport Ford driver are already planning for his continuation. McErlean is contesting his first full season in the top class, supported by Motorsport Ireland.
He has also scored points in Kenya and Portugal, while retirements came in Sardinia and the Canary Islands. In Sweden back in February, McErlean got stuck in a snowbank for over an hour but eventually made it to the finish.
“Josh has been making really solid progress event to event. The pace is coming up, and every error has been a learning experience. He’s kept the head up,” said John Coyne, head of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, in an interview with DirtFish.
“The last two days [in Sardinia] were extremely difficult, opening the road and I think that’s given him a new appreciation for what the top guys need to be able to do. And I mean, when you look, the first pass of the powerstage versus the second pass, he was three seconds a kilometer quicker on the second pass and it’s all road sweeping.”
In addition to McErlean and his co-driver Eoin Treacy, the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy also includes 2023 JWRC champion William Creighton and ERC competitor Jon Armstrong.
According to Coyne, McErlean is even ahead of their original schedule in terms of pace. The young Irishman was thrown into the deep end of the sport, having achieved limited success in lower categories in previous seasons.
“But I have to say I think he’s ahead of our plan, and that’s really good,” he added. “And when you consider that they started the year, you know, Eoin was jumping into his first WRC season and they’ve gelled very well. It’s working really well in and out of the car,” Coyne assured.
“I think there’s a result hiding in there that hopefully we’ll get before the end of the year. But really, the entire year is about learning so that we can go for real next year.”
Coyne even claims that McErlean could still score a podium this season, even if his current pace isn’t quite there yet. Nonetheless, he’s confident that McErlean’s time in Rally1 machinery will continue in 2026.
“I think if he keeps up the improvements that he’s been making event by event, if we keep on the same trajectory, I would certainly hope to see him there again next year to capitalize on the learning.”
