For Irishman McErlean, it was his first time tackling a high-speed gravel event in top-tier Rally1 machinery. That inexperience showed clearly on the timesheets, as he finished ninth, trailing rally winner Oliver Solberg by five and a half minutes.
Still, McErlean said it was “really cool to experience” the Estonian gravel roads behind the wheel of the Ford Puma Rally1 car.
“It’s quite surprising what they can do and how fast you can commit to the roads. You have to really shift your mind so you can be on the pace straight away but I think we can build on that going into Finland,” McErlean said.
The Irishman is eagerly looking forward to next week’s Rally Finland. He has competed in the event three times previously in Rally2 machinery, but this will be his first start in the top class.
“It’s a proper childhood dream to go to Finland and compete at the top level of the WRC. So let’s go enjoy it and hopefully step up the pace there,” McErlean added.
Grégoire Munster had a more difficult time in Estonia, finishing behind McErlean in tenth place – the lowest-ranked Rally1 finisher.
“At the end of Rally Estonia, it’s not the result we wanted for sure but this is due to a puncture on Friday and my overshoots in a few places,” Munster explained.
“But I would say that considering we’ve been opening the road we’ve done quite well. Rather than changing the set up too much, we were just trying to drive and gain experience and mileage before going to Finland,” he summed up.
Rally Finland kicks off next Thursday, 31 July.
