Casey Jay Coleman battles back to claim podium in Poland
In a true case of never giving up and incredible commitment being rewarded, Casey Jay Coleman battled back from a disastrous opening day on the Rally Poland – Rajd Polski to finish second overall and retain his hopes of securing FIA European Rally Championship success in 2026.
With the legendary event returning to tarmac for the first time in over 20 years, the Katowice based rally brought a new challenge for the whole field, but it would be on the opening Super Special Stage that things very quickly could have unravelled.
A costly mistake saw Coleman slide wide into the barriers, leaving his Ford Fiesta Rally3 with badly damaged rear suspension, and a whole host of time lost.
“It just broke away on the braking, down the hill, and I couldn’t save it. It, it was gone. I was reverse entry, and I kept my foot on the throttle. The cold tyres, they wouldn’t grip like. Ah, disaster” said Casey Jay talking to Rally TV, finishing the opening evening of the event lying 15th in the ERC3 standings and a big task in the morning to reset and go again.
With the hugely experienced RLA Autosport team on the job and with some remarkable skill, Casey Jay and navigator Killian McArdle left the morning service park with a perfectly repaired Fiesta, and a huge deficit to make up against a host of Europe’s finest talent in the class.
Saturday brought seven tricky tarmac stages which caught out a large quantity of star drivers right across the field, but with the mental preparation taught soo well by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, Coleman got the bit between his teeth and summoned every bit of experience to make the most of poor road position and set a pair of Top-3 stage times, clawing his way back to sit sixth at the end of a challenging day.
“Its been a bit of a rollercoaster of a weekend so far!” said Casey Jay at the end of the penultimate leg of Rally Poland. “Obviously the small off last night was pretty unfortunate, but huge thanks to the team in service, they got the car fixed up and the pace was really good right from the off.“
Looking ahead to the final day and what already seemed to be a defining day for his ERC3 and M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy title hopes, Coleman added “There is still a lot to fight for tomorrow. I’m happy with my pace, the gaps are quite small and lets see how it works out!“.
Indeed, there would be a whole lot to fight for, and one of the finest comeback stories of the season! Having started Saturday morning lying in a lowly 15th position, it now looked a lot more impressive as Casey Jay Coleman lay 5th after Stage 10…and then things jumped to another level.
A fastest stage time on Stage 11, the 17.45km Hażlach test, was remarkable, but backed up immediately with another timesheet topping run through Stage 12. With the bit firmly between the teeth, a trio of fastest times followed after the final service, making it five stage wins in a row on what was now truly a Super Sunday for Coleman & McArdle.
As predicted the previous evening, the tight gaps allowed for places to be made, and by the end of a frantic afternoon Casey Jay Coleman & Killian McArdle returned to the podium to take a hard fought and doggedly earned second place overall in both the ERC3 and M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy standings, the third FIA European Rally Championship podium for the pair in what has been a remarkable season so far!
“What an incredible weekend here in Poland! From being 76th after the opening stage to finishing 2nd in ERC3 and in the M-Sport Fiesta Rally 3 Trophy, an absolute dream weekend” beamed Coleman. “That was a proper flat-out rally! I reset after the mistake on Friday, and trusted the pace I knew I had and am absolutely delighted with how it worked out“.
Acknowledging the huge effort made by the RLA Autosport team in repairing his Ford Fiesta Rally3, Casey Jay was quick to add “I want to say a massive thank you to the team who fixed the damage without incurring penalties; this result is for them!“
The result now leaves Coleman firmly in the hunt for both the ERC3 and M-Sport Fiesta Rally3 Trophy titles, the podium in Poland leaves him lying second overall in both series. The M-Sport & Pirelli backed Trophy series concludes at Barum Czech Rally Zlín in August, while the ERC3 battle has three rounds left including the mythical Czechia event which Casey Jay tasted success at last year.
Casey Jay Coleman is supported by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, Suirway Group, Keltech, Lyons Motor Group, Murray Motorsport, Cappoquin Logistics & Killsheelin Limestone Quarries.
Thanks to Cian Donnellon for the info
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