Josh McErlean is reminding fans he still has much to learn despite returning a points-scoring finish with M-Sport Ford on his FIA World Rally Championship top-flight debut.
A cautious approach at January’s Monte Carlo Rally first time out in the Puma Rally1 with new-for-2025 co-driver Eoin Treacy ensured he stayed out of trouble to come home in seventh place.
He also usurped more experienced rivals including team-mate Gregoire Munster and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Takamoto Katsuta – both retired on the closing Sunday leg when they went off the road.
McErlean’s focus now turns to Rally Sweden – the only pure winter fixture on the 14-round calendar – and, like the Monte, an event that is widely regarded as being a specialist event.
The Umea-based round is notorious for its high-speed, ice-covered forest roads that tend to be lined by deep snow banks, and the 25-year-old from Kilrea has got his first taste of what lies in store in the Scandinavian country during a pre-event test and got a first introduction to the new Hankook studded control tyre.
“We have been able to conduct some winter testing to enable me to get a feel for the Puma on the ice and snow, but I am fully aware that getting the most out of the car will take some time from my side,” said McErlean, who also used the extra seat time to better understand how long the studs last as the road conditions evolve as well as just how much camber he can exploit in the event.
Kilrea’s Josh McErlean is keen to make a positive impression at Rally Sweden
“It is such a specialist event and one that takes drivers years to master so, pretty much like Rallye Monte-Carlo, our expectations remain realistic, and that is quite simply to do our best for the M-Sport Ford team and also try to pick up some Championship points for our season.
“The plan was always to take the first few rounds step by step as they are so specialist, and that approach clearly worked in Monte Carlo; we learnt so much on that event.
“Rally Sweden is always incredible – it is always a special event with the unique challenge of the surface.
“The grip that these cars can generate with the studded tyres really is something else.
“Tackling Rally Sweden in a Rally1 car is going to be like nothing else I have ever experienced before, but I guess that is going to be a theme for the whole season for me and Eoin, really.”
Starting on Thursday evening with a super special stage, Rally Sweden also ushers in the 2025 FIA Junior WRC, with fellow Irishman Eamonn Kelly one of 13 drivers from 11 nations competing to win drives on four European rounds of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship in a Fiesta Rally2.