With co-driver Eoin Treacy alongside, the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew arrived in Finland looking to build on the speed demonstrated in Estonia just two weeks earlier, while tackling one of the fastest and most demanding rallies in world motorsport.
McErlean made a clean start to the event on Friday morning, settling into an impressive rhythm to hold eighth overall at the day’s midpoint. However, heavy afternoon rain created challenging conditions across the Finnish forests, with the Irishman among several drivers caught out by rapidly deteriorating visibility.
A misted windscreen on the seventh test forced McErlean to back off significantly during the opening kilometres of the stage, costing valuable time as he dropped more than 20 seconds to the fastest stage pace. Undeterred, he responded immediately with the fifth-fastest time on SS9, offering the perfect response to the time loss; climbing into seventh overall heading into the weekend.
Saturday provided one of the most impressive performances of McErlean’s Rally1 career to date. After briefly dropping behind Takamoto Katsuta on the opening test, he found himself locked in a fascinating battle with world champion Thierry Neuville for much of the day.
Remaining composed on roads where even the smallest mistake can carry enormous consequences, McErlean capitalised when teammate Mārtiņš Sesks retired on SS14 before moving into sixth following Sébastien Ogier’s accident later in the afternoon. Neuville remained within striking distance throughout, and despite an outstanding defensive drive, the Belgian edged back ahead on the final stage of the day by just 5.5 seconds after an absorbing contest.
Rather than dwelling on the lost position, McErlean rounded out the rally with two measured runs through the famous Himos-Jämsä stage on Sunday, setting the seventh-fastest time on both passes to comfortably secure seventh overall.
The result marks another encouraging step forward in McErlean’s Rally1 campaign. Across one of the championship’s most feared events, he delivered a mistake-free performance while demonstrating the pace to compete wheel-to-wheel with one of the sport’s most decorated drivers. Having also shown strong speed in Greece and Estonia, the Irishman continues to build confidence and consistency as the season progresses.
“It feels really good to get Rally Finland finished with another seventh overall,” said McErlean. “It’s been a pretty crazy weekend with the number of accidents and retirements, which just shows how demanding this rally is. The margins here are incredibly small, and you don’t get many second chances, so to come away without putting a foot wrong all weekend is something we’re really pleased with.
“Friday was frustrating with the weather and the windscreen misting up because we lost quite a bit of time there, but after that I felt we found a really good rhythm. The pace was there and we were able to fight with Thierry throughout Saturday, which is something we’re proud of. He’s a world champion and to be in that battle all day shows the progress we’re making.
“The important thing for us is that we were in the fight in the first place. Over the last few events we’ve been building more confidence, becoming more consistent and showing that we can run at a competitive pace across an entire rally.
“Rally Finland is one of those events every driver dreams of competing in, and to finish it cleanly with another strong result in only my second season in Rally1 machinery gives me plenty of encouragement. There are lots of positives to take away, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going into the South American rallies and continue moving forward.”
McErlean is backed by Woodland NI, Admore Air Conditioning, M.P Burke Transport, SDC Trailers, EC Framing, Tulach Properties, Carbon Fusion, Fastener Connections and McCormack Contracting Inc.
