Seven MI Rally Academy members set for ERC's Rally Poland

Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne lead a strong Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy entry for this weekend’s Rally Poland, round four of the European Rally Championship and round three of Junior ERC.

The M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2 crew of Armstrong and Byrne has displayed highly competitive pace this year, regularly setting top-three stage times, but a string of punctures has left them looking for a representative result.

Fermanagh’s high-flying rally driver had set a fastest time on the Royal Rally of Scandinavia just before picking up a puncture that meant a brilliant fightback was needed just to secure a top ten finish.

Armstrong is in a positive mood, though, heading to ERC’s next high-speed gravel rally. Three category wins on his three visits to Rally Poland have put him in a strong frame of mind ahead of the 14-stage event.

“Rally Poland is a class rally,” the 30-year-old put it simply. “It is very fast with a sandy gravel surface, so you can dig the tyres in to get good stability and grip. You can really lean on the sidewall of the tyre.

“It is a rally that I have always enjoyed. The first time I did it was in 2016, my first year in the Drive DMACK Trophy, and I was able to win the event alongside Noel O’Sullivan.

“I have been there twice since, winning the Rally3 class on both occasions, so I am really looking forward to going back. It is one of my favourite rallies. The itinerary is a bit different this year but there is still the familiarity of stages like Mikolajki.

“Hopefully, we can carry the same speed as we have done in the past couple of gravel rallies and try to have a clean run this time.”

Junior ERC returns to the limelight in Poland after skipping ERC’s previous round in Sweden. Craig Rahill and Keelan Grogan are both looking to bounce back from the tough gravel stages of Rally Hungary.

Rahill and co-driver Conor Smith finished fourth on Junior ERC’s opening round and had been sixth early on in Rally Hungary before a heavy compression damaged their Peugeot 208 Rally4’s oil cooler and forced them to retire.

The young Cavan-based driver is keen to put into practice everything he has picked up so far this year on this weekend’s Rally Poland.

“We have learned a lot from Hungary,” said the 2024 Billy Coleman Award Winner, “and have been working hard behind the scenes to try to get things right with the car.

“We were happy with our pace on stage one in Hungary, and those stage characteristics were similar to what we will be facing in Poland. Hopefully, we can pick up where we left off.

“I am looking forward to the challenge and will aim to get some good points on the board.”

Fellow Peugeot crew Grogan and co-driver Ayrton Sherlock had been fifth in Rally Hungary’s Junior ERC standings before a puncture on stage six spoiled their momentum. A runner-up time on Hungary’s Power Stage ended their second ERC round on a high.

“Rally Poland is a rally that I have been looking forward to all year,” Grogan commented. “The stages are extremely fast and committed which will be a new challenge to us.

“This will be the last gravel rally of the championship so we will be looking to get a strong result.”

MI Rally Academy co-driver Killian McArdle also returns to ERC action in Rally Poland as he continues his Rally3 campaign alongside Casey Jay Coleman.