M-Sport Ford Irish final crews thoughts ahead of Rally Japan
The World Rally Championship reaches its halfway point next weekend, with the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team turning their attention to Rally Japan. The seventh round of the season, taking place from May 28 to 31, marks the final asphalt event on the 2026 calendar before the series transitions to gravel.
With the event moving to a spring date for the first time, crews will face higher temperatures than in previous years through the mountain roads of the Aichi and Gifu regions. The tight, twisting stages leave absolutely no room for error, requiring precise management of rhythm and pace.
McErlean brings experience
Josh McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy return to Japan for the third time in their careers, looking to put their previous experience to good use and bring the current generation of Rally1 cars to a strong asphalt conclusion.
“Rally Japan is always a really special event and it’s hard to believe it’s already the final Tarmac rally of the season, and also the last asphalt event for this current generation of Rally1 car,” McErlean said.
“The stages are incredibly demanding and precise, but we’ve definitely made good progress on asphalt through the year and I feel in a much stronger place heading into this event compared to earlier in the season. The aim is to keep building confidence, put together a clean rally and finish the tarmac season on a positive note with the team.”
Armstrong set for Japan debut
In the second M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne will make their competitive debut at the event. While it is Armstrong’s first time racing on these stages, he already possesses strong knowledge of the challenging terrain.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of Japan,” Armstrong said. “It’s only my second ever long-haul event, but I have been there a couple of times in the past with the route note crew, so I have some familiarity with the stages. They’re quite interesting, a little twisty with a good variation of surfaces.”
“The weather could be interesting too, because it’s a different time of year and no one really knows fully what to expect. But I think it’s going to be an amazing event and we’re looking to enjoy ourselves out there. It’s the last Tarmac rally of the year, so we want to see what kind of pace we can have, but also just enjoy driving the Rally1 car on its final WRC Tarmac outing.”
“I love Japan: the culture, the people, and especially the fans, are really cool. I can’t wait to get going.”
The itinerary for the weekend consists of 20 competitive stages totalling 302.82 kilometres, all centred around the main service park hub at the Toyota Stadium in Toyota City.
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