top of page
Writer's pictureAdmin

Gravel crews the unsung heroes of  Rally of Central Europe



Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy drivers Josh McErlean and William Creighton have praised their gravel crews after successfully completing the Saturday leg of the Central European Rally.


The rally opened on Thursday night with a spectator stage and a traditional closed-road stage in the Czech Republic.



Six more stages were completed in the Czech Republic on Friday before the weekend’s action in Germany and Austria. 


A further six stages took place across the German/ Austrian border on Saturday.


Early morning dense fog, coupled with damp roads and a spread of fallen autumnal leaves meant the roads were very unpredictable and the crews relied on information supplied by their gravel crews to safely get through the tests. 


Watch:


McErlean and co-driver James Fulton are enjoying their first run in the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 on a tarmac round of the World Rally Championship and his first tarmac rally at this level since the corresponding event last season. 


The Skoda Motorsport /Toksport driver employed leading national crew Desi Henry and Shane Byrne to provide the vital information.  


It is the first time they have had the luxury of a gravel crew since Rally Monte Carlo in 2023. 


“It is a crazy job but they are doing a great job,” said McErlean who is holding 13th place overall and fifth in both WRC2 and  WRC2 Challenger ahead of Sunday’s four final stages. 


“There are lots of cuts, big cuts, small cuts, and the gravel crew  are trying to mark them but they don’t want to slow you down either.”


Fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew, William Creighton, and Liam Regan, in the M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2, are working with Stephen Whitford and Derek Brannigan.


They are two of the most experienced gravel note crew members on the world stage having previously worked with both Kris Meeke and the much-missed Craig Breen. 


“They are out very early in the morning, two hours before the first car and they are trying to make decisions and read the road in the dark,” said Creighton who is in 18th position overall and ninth WRC2/WRC2 Challenger after Saturday’s loop.


“It is probably easier on the second pass as they can see the mud that is pulled out, but in the first pass they are trying to pre-empt the condition of the road by the time we get there.” 


Watch:



Outside of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crews tackling the Central European Rally there is plenty of other Irish interest in the penultimate round of the WRC. 


Aaron Johnston and his driver Takamoto Katsuta finished Friday in fifth place overall. The Toyota Yaris Rally1 crew set the fastest time on the event’s sixth stage on Friday.



The Irish/Japanese pairing made an unfortunate piece of WRC history on Saturday when they became the first crew to get penalised for exceeding a speed limit in a virtual chicane.

They were hit with a 16-second penalty for being eight kilometres over the limit but it did not affect their overall position. 



“It has been another solid and consistent day for us on these challenging German and Austrian stages,2 said Johnston, “We look forward to day four where we will continue our push to earn as many championship points as possible for the team.”


Eamonn Boland and MJ Morrisey are second in the WRC2  Masters Cup, on what is their first WRC outing in a Skoda Fabia Rally2. 


Ahead of the final day of action, they are one place behind German rally legend Armin Kremer in the Masters Category. 


“It is easy to see that there are competitors involved in the organisation of this event,” said Morrisey. “From the way the recce was organised, to traffic management, especially in Prague for the ceremonial start. They have it figured out.” 


Conor Wilson and Darren Curran had a coming together with a stage-one anti-cut device which meant they were unable to complete the first proper stage on Thursday.


However, the Hyundai i20 R5  crew were able to rejoin under Super Rally rules on Friday morning and have completed both Friday’s and Saturday’s extremely challenging stages without further incident.


“We are only learning the car but what better way to do that than on a four-day rally,” said Wilson. We are trying to see what the car can do but all-in-all we are enjoying it.”

 

Sunday’s route includes the new Knaus Tabbert Am Hochwald stage and the

revamped Passauer Land test, which forms the points-paying Power Stage

when it’s repeated at 13h15 local time. Passau’s picturesque town hall once again provides the backdrop for the final podium and prize-giving ceremony.


Text By Sean Maoriarty

Action Photos by  M-SPORT & Red Bull Content Pool

People Photos by Kerry Motorsport News 

0 comments

Commentaires


bottom of page