Academy crews gear up for gravel on ERC's Rally Hungary

Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne lead seven Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy members taking on this weekend’s Rally Hungary, round two of the European Rally Championship.

The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 crew is seeded ninth for the 13-stage gravel event that features 38 Rally2 cars.

Armstrong finished eighth on last year’s Rally Hungary, posting a top-five time through the Power Stage on his maiden ERC event with M-Sport’s Fiesta Rally2.

The MI Rally Academy duo hope to build on that, and their promising pace so far this year, to secure strong points in their quest for ERC glory.

“We are looking forward to the next round of ERC,” said Armstrong. “I did Rally Hungary last year, it is quite a demanding event for the tyres and suspension. It is a bit rougher than other gravel events, with a big variation in characteristics between each stage.

“I will try to build on what we learned last year and continue to work with Shane, building on some good pace on Rally Sierra Morena. The main goal is to get some solid points on the board.

“We are putting in the effort in the background; hopefully, it will start to pay off.”

Craig Rahill and Conor Smith head to Hungary in a rich vein of form. The Billy Coleman Award winner finished fourth on his Junior ERC debut, Rally Sierra Morena.

As the series switches to gravel, Rahill will utilise his recent class-winning Moonraker Forest Rally performance among Junior ERC’s latest blockbuster entry.

“We are really looking forward to round two,” explained Rahill. “We were delighted with our result in Spain, but it’s back to a clean slate now as we switch to gravel.

“We don’t have much experience in the Peugeot 208 Rally4 on gravel. We got a taste for what the car is like on the Moonraker, but altogether, we have very little seat time on gravel this year. Hopefully, we will be up to speed after a good test before Rally Hungary.

“The stages look very challenging and demanding, it is like the Safari Rally in places so our aim is to find a comfortable pace and try to stay out of trouble. If we make it to the end of the weekend mistake- and trouble-free, we should end up with a solid result and more points on the board.”

Keelan Grogan and Ayrton Sherlock will also challenge for Junior ERC honours amid the entry of 29 Rally4 cars.

Rally Hungary will be Grogan’s first gravel event since last year’s Cambrian Rally as he looks to build on the positive pace displayed on Junior ERC’s Rally Sierra Morena opener.

“I am excited to be making the trip to Hungary and getting my first taste of gravel in Junior ERC,” described Grogan. “The stages in Hungary look like they will be a big challenge and are well known for being rough and tough.

“With that in mind, we will need to manage our approach to the rally as even simply making it to the finish could earn us a strong result.

“It will be nice to be back competing on gravel again after a few months away from it and see where our pace lies against the other Junior ERC crews, some of whom have done these stages last year.”

Killian McArdle rounds out the MI Rally Academy members in action on Rally Hungary. The busy co-driver has competed on nine events so far this year, most recently scoring a Rally4 victory alongside Joseph Kelly on the Rally of the Lakes.

McArdle switches to calling the pacenotes in Casey Jay Coleman’s Ford Fiesta Rally3 in Hungary, hoping to build on their eighth-place ERC3 finish on round one.

Rally Hungary starts on Friday with a shakedown and super-special before six stages on both Saturday and Sunday.