His presence at the wheel of one of the ten Rally1s present at the start of the Rally Monte Carlo last Thursday would have seemed completely crazy just a few months ago. Only 9th in WRC2 in 2024, Josh McErlean did not exactly look like the first choice to replace Adrien fourmaux, left for Hyundai, especially after the thunderous debut of Latvian Martins Sesks last year, the other contender at the wheel of the Ford Puma.
Thanks to significant support from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, the Irishman had enough to fund his season and now he is propelled to the start of the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Before the first special, his level of performance was an unknown: with so little experience, what should we expect from the 25-year-old? Not much, probably.
His first stage was particularly notable because of his much slower pace than his rivals. After three special stages, he was already 2 min 53 s behind, which put him virtually only 3rd… in Rally2. The second stage was in the same vein: Josh McErlean was not there to perform, but to find his marks, acclimatize to a much more powerful car than what he had previously known and above all not to break it.
McErlean in heaven, his boss proud of him
By gradually accelerating over the last two days, the Kilrea native managed to overtake Yohan Rossel, winner in WRC2, to take 7th place overall thanks to the retirements of his teammate Grégoire Munster and the Toyota by Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta. By scoring 6 points, the protégé of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy unlocked his counter in the premier category. Enough to make him smile.
"I made a dream come true this weekend and it will take me a little while to make it come true," Josh McErlean rejoiced after concluding his Monte Carlo with a 9th place on the Power Stage, 41 seconds off the reference time. Sébastien Ogier. “It was quite daunting to be in the Casino Square [in Monaco] at the start, knowing what was coming, but we had a plan to follow and it was essential that we stuck to it until the end. Seventh overall is probably better than we had hoped for, and it’s mission accomplished for us this week.”

@Red Bull Content Pool.
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is an event that every rally driver dreams of competing in, and to be taking part in it for the first time in a Rally1 car is something truly special. It was an incredible learning experience, and I am delighted to have secured my first championship points with the best drivers in the world around me.”
A year of learning
Josh McErlean will play the entire season alongside Grégoire Munster at M-SportIn Sweden (13 – 16 February), two more Ford Puma Rally1s will line up alongside the usual starters for Jourdan Serderidis and Martins Sesks, who will contest six Rallies this season. “Josh and Eoin had a fantastic weekend. We asked them to just take the car to the end of the event and use it as a learning experience for the start of what is going to be a huge year for them, and that’s exactly what they did.” says Richard Millener, director of M-Sport Ford.
“This year’s Monte Carlo Rally was really tough. They approached the event in a very sensible way and I can say I’m very impressed with the way they finished the rally by taking championship points while some of their much more experienced rivals came away empty-handed. Sweden will be another very tough event but for tonight (Sunday night, editor’s note) they can both relax, sit back and enjoy what they’ve just experienced and be happy. They are now a world championship points-scoring crew.”
Joshua McErlean and Eoin Treacy have the advantage of not having any pressure to get a result from M-Sport Ford at first, which gives them time to find their feet. But beware: the time will come when they will be expected to perform at the same level as their teammates Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka, who do not have much more experience.
ALSO READ > WRC 2025 Championship – Standings after Rallye Monte-Carlo
Continue reading on these topics:
DANIEL MEYERS
28/01/2025 at 11:16 a.m.
There aren't enough rally1s already and in one of them we're going to see a clown all season long who has no business being there. It's pitiful, especially since during this time 4 or 5 drivers in WRC2 are complaining about not being able to go up to rally1. More than enough, there was already the 'Mr. of a great age' always pleased with himself and now an Irishman with equally full pockets.