McErlean ends rookie year with ninth-place finish on WRC’s Saudi Arabia finale

Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy finished ninth overall on the final round of the 2025 World Rally Championship, capping their maiden Rally1 season with a top-ten finish despite challenging circumstances on Rally Saudi Arabia's inaugural event.

A puncture on the rally's second stage, Al Fasallyah, cost them a better result after they lost over two minutes while stopping to change the wheel. The Ford Puma Rally1 crew bounced back to set several competitive times on Thursday, including a sixth-fastest time on stage six, the Moon Stage.

Unfortunately, their wheel change meant they started Friday's stages at the front of the field, cleaning the loose-surface stages for the rest of the crews. Still, the Rally1 rookies managed to climb into the top ten by the end of the event, demonstrating their resilience and commitment on the challenging desert stages.

"It's been a challenging rally for us," reflected McErlean. "A puncture on the first stage meant we were doing road cleaning on the following days, which wasn't ideal. But it's been an incredible experience to be here for Saudi's first WRC event, seeing these fantastic desert stages.

"To still finish in the top ten despite the number of punctures is a testament to the team. Huge credit to everyone involved, including the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, John Coyne, and Eoin on the pacenotes. Now we look forward to what comes next.”

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Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston finished fifth overall to cap off the end of his fourth full season alongside Takamoto Katsuta. The Toyota Yaris Rally1 duo had climbed up to third overall after a brace of third-fastest times at the end of Friday. Unfortunately, a roll on the 33-kilometre Asfan stage, Rally Saudi Arabia's penultimate test, cost them two places, but they still secured a top-five finish after picking up fifth on the Power Stage.

Back in Ireland, MI Rally Academy co-drivers delivered impressive performances on Saturday's Killarney Historic Rally, claiming three of the top four positions in the modified section.

Chris Armstrong and academy co-driver Conor Smith finished second in Killarney’s modified category. Smith, who has enjoyed a year competing in the Junior European Rally Championship, had been third for most of the event, locked in a close battle with Gary McPhillips and fellow academy athlete Conor Mohan. A pacey finish had them move ahead of their Monaghan rivals with a brace of runner-up times on the two deciding Moll's Gap tests.

"I was delighted to be given the opportunity to sit alongside Chris Armstrong in this year's Killarney Historics Rally," commented Smith. "The pace was fast from the start, and we had good battles throughout the day with fellow modified competitors. We were absolutely delighted to have finished second modified overall, bringing the Paddy Kiernan Cup back to Cavan.”

Mohan concluded a season focused on a Junior WRC title bid by navigating for fellow Monaghan man McPhillips in his Ford Escort Mk2. The crew set a strong pace throughout the day, holding second until the final two stages.

"It was a good race all day in Killarney," said Mohan. "It was nice to get back in with Gary again in a modified car. It was different to being in the Rally3 car all year.

“Completing Moll's Gap in reverse was a real treat. Unfortunately, we had a small gearbox issue on the last stage, which didn't help us, but we were still happy to get third in the modified category.”

Killian McArdle completed his busy year of competition with a fourth-place finish alongside Michael Cahill. The MI Rally Academy co-driver completed his 26th rally of the year alongside the Ford Escort Mk2 pilot, improving their pace throughout the day to climb from 14th to fourth.

"It was a great way to end the year for us in Killarney," McArdle reflected, "coming away with fourth overall is fantastic, and we're over the moon with the result. The stages were very difficult, not very Killarney-like, but we kept our noses clean, keeping a steady pace to come away with a nice result against top names in modifieds.”

"It was also a nice result for me to finish off the year after doing 26 rallies. It has been a great year for me with some great results at home and abroad. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all the drivers and teams that I've competed with all year. Especially the MI Rally Academy for their support and help all year, which has definitely brought me on leaps and bounds in my preparation and level of professionalism."