Incredible fightback secures runner-up ERC3 finish for Coleman

Casey Jay Coleman and Killian McArdle delivered a stunning comeback on Rally Poland to claim second in ERC3 and the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy, while William Creighton and Liam Regan snatched ninth on the final stage after a competitive weekend on the fast Polish asphalt.

Coleman and McArdle's rally suffered an early setback after an overshoot on Friday night's Katowice super special damaged their Ford Fiesta Rally3's rear left wheel, costing them over 44 seconds. But an epic Sunday fightback featuring five ERC3 stage wins propelled them from 15th back to second in ERC3, demonstrating the all-Academy crew's resilience and raw speed on the Polish stages.

“It has been a rollercoaster of a weekend for us in Poland,” said Coleman. “We had a really good feeling before the event but on Friday night in the super special we slid off and hit a concrete barrier damaging the rear left corner of the car."

“At the time I felt like our championship hopes were over but Killian and I dug deep and worked hard to get the wheel turning on the car and make it to parc ferme on time. With just a 15 minute service Saturday morning our team RLA Autosport pulled off an incredible feat of getting the car fixed and we made it out of service with no late penalties, I can’t thank them enough for this. "

“We got the head down from then on and pushed hard to try to get some championship points and come Saturday evening we had moved from 15th up to sixth place but it was Sunday where everything really clicked and we gave it our all with five fastest stage times in a row to move from sixth to second place."

“For me this result means so much after how I felt Friday evening after the crash to finish second was a dream weekend really.”

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British Rally Champions Creighton and Regan showed their pace from the off, setting the fifth-fastest time on the qualifying stage before two fourth-fastest times on Saturday morning put the Citroen C3 Rally2 duo fifth overall, just 3.4 seconds off a podium spot. An overshoot on stage six cost them ten crucial seconds on a rally of fine margins, but they remained in top ten contention throughout, snatching ninth on the final stage.

"We had a strong start to the rally with our best qualifying result followed by top-five times across the opening loop of stages," said Creighton.

"In the afternoon we struggled to stay with the guys in front and an overshoot dropped us ten seconds. We worked to improve throughout the day and thankfully managed to take some steps to clinch ninth on the final stage. Like most of the ERC events the rally was quite unique, so we have learnt a lot this weekend.”

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Craig Rahill and Conor Smith started the Rally Poland perfectly with the fastest ERC3 time on Friday night's super special before being forced to retire after picking up rollcage damage from a roll on the 17-kilometre Jastrzebie-Zdroj test.

"Absolutely gutted with how the weekend turned out for us," reflected Rahill. "We were really hoping to bag maximum points this weekend to keep our championship hopes alive but it wasn't to be.”

“We started off well with a stage win on stage one and we were setting the pace on stage two until 13 kilometres when the rear of the car stepped out and caught the muck on the edge of the road, which sent us into a high-speed spin and a small roll. When we got into service the FIA scrutineers examined the cage and there was a slight bend in it so we were unable to continue.”

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Cian Caldwell and Paul McPhillips had been running a brilliant second in the M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy before an accident on stage seven forced them out of the event.

“A disappointing end to a great weekend,” Caldwell reflected. “We showed great speed and we were really enjoying the stages in Poland but unfortunately that all came to an end on stage seven where we had a small off."

“There are plenty of positives to take away from this event and we plan to continue to improve our speed and also get a result in Czechia for the fifth round of ERC3.”

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In Junior ERC, Kyle McBride and Liam Callaghan delivered a clean run to finish seventh after climbing steadily from 20th at the start of the event.

"We had a clean rally, learned a huge amount on the Polish roads, and made some strong improvements to the car setup throughout the weekend," said McBride.

“We got used to Poland’s asphalt surface, the dynamics of the stages make it a big learning experience."

“Really happy to come away with a solid finish and take everything we've learned here into the next one.

“I can't thank all my sponsors enough and to everyone who has made it possible.”

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