MCERLEAN READY FOR FRESH TEST

MOTORSPORT IRELAND Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean will take another step in his World Rally Championship (WRC) career this weekend as he heads to Rally Islas Canarias, an event which marks his first full asphalt outing in the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1.

- By JOHN KENNY

It's a debut WRC season in the top class in the sport after a number of seasons in the WRC2 series and so far he and co-driver Eoin Treacy have competed in the Monte Carlo, Rally Sweden and the Safari Rally in Kenya.

The 25-year-old from Kilrea now turns his attention to the tarmac of the Canary Islands, which is holding a WRC round for the first time.

With a smoother surface and more consistent grip levels than his previous rallies, this offers McErlean his first real opportunity to sample the Puma Rally1 on a more conventional surface.

“It's probably the first rally this season where we can have a little bit of predictability in terms of what we will face,” said McErlean.