JOSH McErlean says his confidence has not been dented by consecutive disappointments in the FIA World Rally Championship as his attention switches to the fastest round on the calendar this week.
McErlean resumes his WRC2 campaign with co-driver James Fulton, the Toksport World Rally Team and Motorsport Ireland’s Rally Academy on Thursday at the Jyvaskyla-based Secto Rally Finland.
A summer of high-speed gravel events reaches its climax at an event where 12% of the total stage mileage is new, and sees the return of the full 20.5-mile ‘Ouninpohja’ speed test – an addition that has been made possible this time with the implementation of ‘virtual chicanes’.
This is the third time the 24-year-old’s name appears on the entry list of the jewel in the World Rally Championship’s crown, and despite arriving at it on the back of eighth place finishes in both Sardinia and Latvia either side of an off in Poland less than a fortnight ago, McErlean is still bullish.
“We know we have the speed – we have shown that already this year,” explained McErlean, who rounded off his pre-event test on Monday by taking his father for a quick spin through the Finnish forests.
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“The next step is building the consistency into that pace – that is the next challenge – but we are in a good place going into Rally Finland. We are all looking forward to it and I am staying positive.
“Finland is an event you could say is the pinnacle of world rallying, so to have the opportunity to be here in a Skoda Fabia, one of the best Rally2 cars there is currently, is phenomenal.
“I canot wait for this week to get started – it is the Christmas week of world rallying. We had a good test and have taken positive steps with my feeling in the car.
“We know that there is going to be big competition in WRC2 but we will do our best and be consistent and see how it looks come Sunday,” added the County Derry man.
Making his Rally Finland debut is Moira’s William Creighton. Fresh from a career-best fifth-place performance on Tet Rally Latvia, the current FIA Junior World Rally Champion is keen to impress and could well spring another surprise alongside Liam Regan in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 car.
A stellar WRC2 line-up has been secured for round nine of the FIA World Rally Championship, with points leader Oliver Solberg (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) being joined by Citroen Racing duo Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin. Jari-Matti Latvala, meanwhile, is handing over his responsibilities as Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s World Rally Team to compete on home soil in a GR Yaris Rally2.
Other potential WRC2 winners include Lauri Joona and Gus Greensmith – sixth and eleventh in the standings currently – Robert Virves, Pierre-Louis Loubet, Emil Lindholm and Teemu Suninen.