Casey Jay Coleman and Killian McArdle climbed from 11th to seventh on the eight-stage Rallye Ciudad de Granada, the final round of the Spanish Gravel Championship, in their Skoda Fabia Rally2.
The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew faced a strong field of local Rally2 crews, plus Finland's Roope Korhonen and Mikko Heikkila. They battled heavy dust on the sandy, loose stages, a very different surface to the one they had tackled in Portugal a fortnight earlier.
"It's been a hectic two weeks for myself, Killian and the team, after ERC Portugal we headed straight for Granada in Spain," said Coleman. "Our second event in the Skoda on gravel was another great learning experience on a completely different surface to Portugal. It was very sandy and loose, we battled strong dust on the stages all weekend, but really nice to come away with seventh overall and more importantly valuable experience on gravel for myself. Of course it's a big change from fighting for wins and podiums all year in the Rally3 to now working on gaining confidence and reducing the seconds-per-kilometre gap to the best Rally2 drivers in the world, with Roope Korhonen for example.”
"Overall it's been a very successful two weeks in Portugal and Spain. As always, thanks to the team, sponsors and the MI Rally Academy.”
Preparations continue later in November, with Casey Jay Coleman due to tackle Rally del Brunello in Italy, the Tuscan based Gravel event using a number of iconic stages that were a part of Rally Sanremo during its Group B heyday in the 1980s.
Josh McErlean was a guest at the Motorsport Ireland Annual Congress in Athlone on Saturday, where the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver discussed the 2027 World Rally Championship regulations and what the changing global pyramid means for grassroots Irish rally drivers.
McErlean, who has driven an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 in the WRC since 2025, also spoke about his recent outing in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta Rally2 WRC Kit car. He drove the car on gravel as course car at Rally Six Cities North of Portugal, the final round of the European Rally Championship.
