Motorsport: Rally Sweden offers chance of early redemption for Irish crews

Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (IRL) ready for Rally Swedem. Pic: Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool.

Rally Sweden, the second round of the World Rally Championship, offers Irish crews Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy and Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne some quick redemption from last month's Rallye Monte-Carlo, where their retirements ended the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team's record of scoring manufacturer points in 231 consecutive WRC events, a record that stretched back to 2002. 

It wasn't the start that either wanted but three days in the snow in Sweden is an ideal place to begin a new chapter as the team also welcomes back Latvian Martins Sesks, who impressed on the final round of last year's championship. 

All are upbeat ahead of the 18-stage rally that begins on Friday and know their task.

McErlean said: “I’m really looking forward to it, the focus is now on bouncing back, keeping things consistent, and building momentum across the whole weekend. 

"We showed a strong performance level here last year and with the extra experience I’ve gained since then, the goal is to repeat that level and keep pushing forward. I’m focused and ready to get back to work with the team."

A good pre-event test last week has McErlean in the right frame of mind, he added: "We showed last year that we can set good times here, and that’s something I want to build on. The goal is to be cleaner, more consistent and turn that into a solid result.” 

Four years ago Armstrong won the WRC3 Junior category and finished fourteenth overall. After processing his WRC Rally1 debut on the Monte Carlo Rally, he too is ready to move on. 

"I’m really looking forward to Rally Sweden. It’s the only full snow event on the calendar, so it’s always the ultimate playground for driving a rally car. Hopefully we can have something a bit more consistent in terms of conditions compared to the first round of the season. 

"I haven’t competed in Sweden since 2022, but I have great memories from the event and I’m really excited for the challenge ahead.” 

The addition of Sesks to the M-Sport line-up is exciting, sixth overall last year, he is targeting another strong result. 

Team boss Richard Millener weighed in: "Rally Sweden now gives us the opportunity to refocus on the potential of our crews to perform well here. 

"Jon’s impressive debut during the opening days in Monte-Carlo showed his pace, and his previous experience in Sweden in the Junior category will support him this time. Josh and Martins both performed well here last year, and we hope they can deliver similar results again."

It should be a fascinating event for the Toyota Gazoo Racing outfit with Oliver Solberg bidding to continue his super start to the season with last year's winner and teammate Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sammi Pajari spearheading their assault, while the Hyundai WRT outfit has former winner Esapekka Lappi returning to the team alongside teammates Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux.

Meanwhile, Cavan's Craig Rahill and co-driver Conor Smith make their debut in the Junior WRC category that hasn't attracted the same numbers as previous seasons.

The Irish Forest Rally Championship kicks off on Sunday with the Collooney-based Yeats Ridge Forest Rally that will be led away by former Sligo Pallets National Forest Rally Champions Derek Mackarel/Eamonn Creedon (Ford Fiesta R5). 

Opposition includes Tyrone duo Mark Donnelly (VW Polo GTi R5) and Gareth Mimnagh (Ford Fiesta Rally2), with former champion Josh Moffett (Hyundai i20 R5) making a return to the series after a lapse of a few years. 

Derry's Jordan Hone has switched from a Ford Fiesta to a more potent Skoda Fabia Rally2 with Carlow's David Condell in a similar car. It will be interesting to see how Leitrim's Keelan Grogan will fare on his outing in a Ford Fiesta Rally2. 

The series has a new title sponsor with County Tyrone-based company Trailer Parts & Spares beginning a three-year agreement to underpin the championship. As previously revealed in the Irish Examiner, previous title sponsor Sligo Pallets parted ways with the series following what its CEO Andrew Mullen described as "ongoing and unresolved communication issues with the Forestry Sub-Commission".

The whole saga was very disappointing, as was the lack of acknowledgement of the Sligo company's support of the championship. The first of the day's eight stages (4x2) that straddle the Sligo/Leitrim border begins at 09:16.