McErlean has competed twice in the WRC’s top class with Ford’s Rally1 car, but on Sunday, he switched to a Ford Fiesta Rally2 alongside co-driver Eoin Treacy.
The pair entered the Midland Stages Rally, part of Ireland’s national rally championship. Experienced British driver Matt Edwards gave McErlean an unexpectedly tough battle in the asphalt rally.
The event, held around Longford, featured a total of nine special stages, with McErlean setting five fastest times and Edwards four. The lead changed hands no fewer than four times during the rally.
Heading into the final stage, Edwards held a slim 0.3-second advantage over McErlean. However, the WRC driver managed to push through with the fastest time on the last test, securing victory by a narrow 0.5-second margin.
“It’s been a close race all day. Obviously, going into the last stage just 0.3s behind, you have to throw everything at it,” McErlean said, according to the Irish Examiner.
“We had a small problem all day that we didn’t manage to fix. Everyone is in that mindset that you have to push hard for a rally victory,” the Irish driver added.
Other drivers were unable to keep up with McErlean and Edwards. Josh Moffett, who finished third, was 43.7 seconds behind the winner.
McErlean’s next event will be the Safari Rally Kenya in a couple of weeks, where he will return to the cockpit of a Rally1 car.
