McErlean makes WRC leap to Rally1 with M-Sport
The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team has announced that Ireland’s Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy will join its World Rally Championship line-up for the full 2025 season.
McErlean, who has completed three seasons in WRC2, has been promoted to the top flight, driving a Ford Puma Rally1 on all 14 WRC events alongside compatriot Treacy.
It is a huge moment for the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy which has backed both members in recent years.
“Joining M-Sport Ford next year to drive the Puma Rally1 in the World Rally Championship is truly a dream come true,” described McErlean.
“I have always aspired to compete at the highest level of motorsport and now that opportunity is becoming a reality.
“I am incredibly excited to be working with such a professional and dedicated team. Eoin and I are ready to give it everything.
“This is a massive step in my career, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved – the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, John Coyne, supporters, family, and the team – for making this possible.
“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel.”
McErlean recorded his best season to date in 2024, highlighted by his runner-up WRC2 finish on Rally Portugal. Treacy, meanwhile, contested his first European Rally Championship campaign, scoring a runner-up finish on its final round alongside Jon Armstrong.
McErlean and Treacy have competed together twice before – once in America at the 2024 Overmountain Rally Tennessee as well as the East African Safari Classic Rally 12 months ago.
The Irish duo are the second crew to be revealed by M-Sport for its 2025 campaign. Gregoire Munster and Louis Louka continue their partnership with M-Sport. The Cumbrian outfit had seats to fill after losing their lead driver Adrien Fourmaux to Hyundai ahead of WRC’s latest season.
“M-Sport is renowned for giving opportunities to up-and-coming talents in the sport,” said team principal Richard Millener.
“With the backing of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, that is exactly what we will be doing for Josh and Eoin.
“2025 will be a huge challenge for them both, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance to show the world that they have what it takes to forge a career at the pinnacle of the sport.
“The targets and expectations for the year will be very sensible but I know that the team and all the Irish fans will be behind the pairing and this opportunity for them.”
McErlean’s rally career has gone from strength to strength since winning the Junior British Rally Championship and subsequent Billy Coleman Award in 2019. The 25-year-old competed in a mix of WRC and ERC events aboard a Hyundai i20 R5 in 2020 and 2021 before embarking on a WRC2 campaign the following year.
McErlean took on both ERC and WRC2 events in 2023, scoring a fourth overall finish on Rally Latvia before switching to a Skoda Fabia Rally2 at the start of 2024.
His co-driver for 2025, Treacy, has been a part of the MI Rally Academy’s co-driver development programme for the past three years, building experience on various events and championships ahead of this step into rallying’s elite series.
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Photo courtesy of M-Sport
