McErlean returns to the ARA National Championship after strong Acropolis performance
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy member Josh McErlean will return to the ARA National Championship at the Overmountain Rally, in Johnson City, Tennessee, next weekend.
This appearance comes fresh off his impressive ninth-place finish in this weekend’s WRC EKO Acropolis Rally 2024, where he competed in a TokSport Skoda Fabia Rally2.
McErlean and co-driver James Fulton finished ninth overall, sixth in WRC2, and fifth in the WRC2 challenger category on the Greek world championship rally.
Despite facing challenging conditions, including 40-degree heat and three punctures, they managed to equal their ninth-place overall finish achieved in the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal in May of this year.
The Overmountain Rally will mark McErlean’s second ever appearance in the US, having previously competed in the Olympus Rally in 2021, where he finished third overall.
He is eager to take on the challenge of the Tennessee stages and compete against the Subarus of championship frontrunners Brandon Semenuk and Travis Pastrana.
“From what we can see, this will be a highly technical rally with tight twisty stages, which should suit the Rally2 car,” said McErlean who will be co-driven by fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy member Eoin Treacy at this event.
McErlean will be driving a PCRS prepared Hyundai i20N Rally2 supplied by John Coyne, the patron and founder of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy which seeks to identify, develop, and promote young Irish athletes in world rally competitions.
Coyne, who recently secured the 2024 ARA RC2 Championship title, is excited to provide McErlean with more seat time and highlight the capabilities of Rally2 cars in the US market.
“I saw a great opportunity to give Josh more seat time while demonstrating the true potential of Rally2 cars as a competitive force in US rallying. I’m looking forward to seeing an exciting battle at the front of the field,” said Coyne.
The anticipated Rally USA is set to join the World Rally Championship in 2026 and will be based in Tennessee giving the Irish crew additional knowledge of this new terrain.
Preston Osborn, ARA Director, expressed his enthusiasm for McErlean’s participation in the Overmountain Rally, highlighting his previous success in the US and the excitement he will bring to the event.
“It’s really exciting to have a top-flight WRC2 competitor like Josh come to compete in an ARA event. He showed remarkable competitiveness three years ago on his first visit to the US and with the experience he has gained on the world championship circuit since then it will be a real treat for US fans to see him take the fight to the championship front runners,” he said.
