Irish Crews Bid Farewell to WRC Rally1 Era on Emotional Sardinian Finale
The curtain fell on five years of top-tier Rally1 regulations at Rally Italia Sardegna, bringing an emotional end to a landmark era for world rallying as Toyota’s Elfyn Evans dramatically clinched his maiden driver’s title on the final stage.
For the three Irish competitors crews. the season finale served as a true ‘last dance’ in current-generation Rally1 machinery as the series prepares to transition into a new technical era.
Tyrone co-driver Aaron Johnston and Japanese driver Takamoto Katsuta completed a breakout season in their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, bringing the car home in sixth overall. The result capped off a historic campaign that yielded their first WRC victories in Kenya and Croatia, with Katsuta becoming the first Japanese driver to lead the world championship.
“A big thank you to the whole team that we managed to finish this tough rally,” said Katsuta. “It was such a difficult start with punctures on Friday, but at the end we could finish P6 and have some fun in the last rally with this car, which has been so successful with so much effort behind it from the whole team.”
In the M-Sport Ford camp, Fermanagh driver Jon Armstrong and Donegal navigator Shane Byrne delivered a mature drive to finish seventh overall in their Puma Rally1, matching Armstrong’s best career result in his debut Rally1 season. Overcoming a Friday morning puncture on the brutal gravel roads, the pair steadily worked their way back up the leaderboard over the weekend.
“So, Rally Sardegna is finished. It was my first time here, so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Armstrong. “We just had a strategy to stay out of trouble and get to the finish of the rally, so that’s the goal achieved. It’s been really cool to be part of the last event with the Rally1 car.”
For Derry driver Josh McErlean and Cork co-driver Eoin Treacy, their final outing in the M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 proved a test of pure grit. Holding a strong seventh position into Saturday, an off-road excursion on SS12 damaged the car’s cooling package and steering. Following an overnight engine change by M-Sport mechanics, the crew restarted on Sunday to reach the finish stop-line.
“What a way to end the season,” said McErlean. “Our rally was going quite well until, unfortunately, we hit a tree on Saturday evening. The team did a terrific job to change the engine overnight. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, so I’m really thankful to have been in Rally1 for two years now.”
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