Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean will join the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team in 2025, driving a Ford Puma Rally1 in the FIA World Rally Championship. Co-driven by fellow Academy member Eoin Treacy for the ground breaking season ahead, the 25-year-old Irishman will join the top echelons of the sport, embarking on a full campaign with the British-based factory team, going toe-to-toe against the best drivers in the world. Supported by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, McErlean and Treacy will tackle 14 rallies, across four continents and three different surfaces with the M-Sport team, who have an unrivalled history of nurturing progressive young talented drivers such as Craig Breen, Ott Tänak and Adrien Fourmaux. McErlean, who launched his career by winning the Junior 1000 Rally Challenge title in 2015, has spent nearly a decade laying a solid foundation for his Rally1 debut. He gained early experience in Ford machinery and competed in a Fiesta R2T in the British Rally Championship, before claiming the Junior title in 2019.,Later that year, he was honoured with the Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award as the country’s top young rally driver. He would also make his WRC debut at Wales Rally GB, marking a significant milestone in his journey.
With sights set on climbing the rallying pyramid, McErlean would embark on a progressive plan of seat time and experience in R5 machinery, before moving into the WRC2 category in 2022 which was bolstered by three top five finishes in the WRC2 Junior category: all the while, banking key experiences of WRC events, terrains and characteristics. A busy season would follow in 2023 as McErlean took on five FIA European Rally Championship events alongside a demanding WRC2 campaign. His achievements included an impressive fourth overall on ERC’s Rally Latvia and several other top ten finishes in both closely fought series throughout the year. Thanks to the continued support from the MI Rally Academy and with the backing of Patron John Coyne, McErlean has enjoyed a rapid rise throughout an impressive 2024 season, claiming a stunning WRC2 second-place finish in Portugal early in the season, reinforced by an abundance of top times in the category during the campaign. Now, thanks to the MI Academy forging a new partnership with M-Sport for 2025, McErlean and co-driver Treacy join M-Sport’s full-time line-up for the 2025 season alongside Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka, marking an incredible achievement for the pairing, the MI Rally Academy and Irish Motorsport as a whole.
Joining M-Sport Ford next year to drive the Puma Rally1 in the World Rally Championship is truly a dream come true,
said McErlean.
I’ve always aspired to compete at the highest level of motorsport, and now that opportunity is becoming a reality.
M-Sport is eager to welcome McErlean, Treacy, and the MI Rally Academy team to its Rally1 ranks as they embark on this new chapter together in 2025.
M-Sport is renowned for giving opportunities to up-and-coming talents in the sport,
said Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal.
McErlean will get his first taste of the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 at the M-Sport headquarters today in preparation for the opening round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship in January, the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo [23-26 January], marking his debut at the top level of the sport.
