Irish Motor Sports News – M-Sport at Rally Italia Sardegna | Round: 13/13

M-Sport at Rally Italia Sardegna | Round: 13/13 | Date: 1-4 October

Oct 02, 2026

M-Sport and the FIA World Rally Championship head into what will now be the final round of the 2026 season on Rally Italia Sardegna next week, where the team prepares for the end of the Rally1 era.

KEY EVENT STATS

Surface: Gravel
Base: Alghero, Sardinia
Stages: 17
Competitive Distance: 307.02 km
Total Distance: 1628.26 km

WEEKEND FOCUS

As the 2026 season comes to a close, the M-Sport team prepare for the last ever World Rally Championship appearance of the Ford Puma Rally1 car, as the Rally1 era comes to an end ahead of the changes to technical regulations from 2027.
Taking place in autumn as opposed to its usual summer slot, Rally Italia Sardegna returns to its base in Alghero for the tenth time since first hosting the WRC in 2014. Sardinia’s rugged terrain and narrow, technical roads will provide a tough final challenge for the awaiting crews.
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crews Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy, and Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne, will make their final appearances of their full-time 2026 seasons on Sardinia’s stunning stages next week.
Mārtiņš Sesks and Renārs Francis return to the team for this final outing of the season, keen to end their part-time season on a positive note after showing promising pace throughout their six appearances.
The trio of Puma Rally1 cars will line up in Alghero’s service park next week as they head out to take on the World Rally Championship stages for the last time.

Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal, said: “While we’re disappointed to be ending the season earlier than anticipated, Sardinia is nevertheless an exciting event on which to be closing out the championship and to bid farewell to the Rally1 cars.

“Jon and Josh will both look to end their seasons on a high and showcase what they’ve learnt throughout the season. Having Mārtiņš back for this final round lets us have a strong presence for this final event, and all three of our crews will be targeting strong finishes to end the season in style.

“It’s going to be emotional seeing the Rally1 cars roll out of the service bays for the final time, the end of an era is always hard and we have seen a lot of incredibly memorable moments with these cars over the last five years. I’m looking forward to a positive finish for the team to round off another busy season, before setting our sights on the future.”

CREW LINE-UP
FORD PUMA RALLY1
#55 / Josh McErlean & Eoin Treacy

Rally Italia Sardegna 2025 result: 34th WRC (SR)
Rally Chile 2026 result: 7th WRC
Current championship position: 9th WRC

Josh McErlean said: “Sardinia is always a really demanding rally, with technical stages and conditions that can be tough on both the car and crew. It’s going to be a special weekend with it being our final event in the Rally1 cars, so we really want to make the most of it. We’ve had some solid results recently and I want to carry that momentum into Sardinia, push hard and finish this chapter on a high.”

#95 / Jon Armstrong & Shane Byrne

Armstrong will make his first competitive appearance at Rally Italia Sardegna
Rally Chile 2026 result: 33rd WRC (SR)
Current championship position: 14th WRC

Jon Armstrong said: “I’m really looking forward to Rally Sardinia and the final round of the WRC season. It’s been a huge year for us with a lot of new events and experiences in the Puma Rally1, so we want to finish the season on a positive note and put everything we’ve learned into practice.

“Sardinia will be another new rally for me competitively, although I’ve driven on some of the roads before when I was there testing with M-Sport Poland a few years ago. It’s a really unique challenge with narrow, technical sections, plenty of crests and some quite rough and rocky roads. In the Rally1 car, the narrow sections will be particularly demanding because you need to be very precise with the placement of the car while still carrying the speed.

“It’s the last opportunity of the season, so hopefully we can enjoy the rally, put together a strong weekend and finish our first year at this level in a good way.”

#22 / Mārtiņš Sesks & Renārs Francis

Rally Italia Sardegna 2025 result: Retired Friday
Rally Finland 2026 result: 42nd WRC (SR)
Current championship position: 16th WRC

Mārtiņš Sesks said: “This will be our last dance with the Rally1 car and our last dance with the team this year. It’s been a great two and a half years, so we really want to put on a good show, do a good rally and get a good result. Our focus is to enjoy the stages and see what we can do on this last WRC event with these cars. It will be a great event in Sardinia and it would be really nice to end this era with a good result.”

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