motorsport-news.co.uk FEBRUARY 17 2022 9
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RALLY NEWS
McERLEAN READY FOR SWEDEN BLAST OFF TO WRC2 CAMPAIGN
Irishman chomping at the bit to start dream assault on global stage for 2022 Photos: mcklein-imagedatabase.com
By Graham Lister
TOYOTA PICKS OUT FUTURE WRC STARS
Josh McErlean has described his seven-event WRC2 campaign as his biggest challenge yet.
McErlean says he is ready for the next chapter of his World rallying career
The 22-year-old Irishman will make his debut in the category on Rally Sweden from February 24-27 and will be eligible for points in the new-for-2022 WRC Junior division where his rivals will include leading names such as Nikolay Gryazin, Jari Huttunen and Emil Lindholm. James Fulton will co-drive McErlean’s PCRS Rallysport-run Hyundai i20 N Rally2, while the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy is providing substantial support. “It’s our biggest challenge to date,” said McErlean, who has yet to nominate the other six World championship rounds on which he will score points. “I’ll be going up against the best in the business so it will take hard work and dedication. I’ve put my whole life into getting this far and I am fully prepared. I’ve dreamt of this moment from a very young age and to see it actually happening is such an incredible feeling.” McErlean made four WRC3 appearances in 2021 with third place in
Irishman will tackle six rallies Spain his best result. He paid tribute to three organisations that have made his WRC2 bid possible. “I hugely appreciate the guidance and support I have received from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, PCRS Rallysport and Hyundai Motorsport,” said McErlean. “Their logical step-by-step approach to increasing my knowledge, experience and pace has been invaluable.” The 2019 Billy Coleman Award winner was due to get his first competitive experience on ice and snow by contesting the Swedish SuperCup LBC-Ruschen event last Saturday (February 12).
YPRES TIPPED TO LAND WRC SLOT IN AUGUST Belgium’s Ypres Rally has emerged as a contender to fill the World championship’s vacant calendar slot from August 18-21, according to media reports in the country. Writing on La Derniere Heure’s DHnet.be last week, influential journalist Olivier de Wilde suggested the announcement is imminent after funding from national federation RACB and the Wallonia government was confirmed. Support from Wallonia comes despite suggestions there won’t be a repeat of last season when Ypres’ first WRC counter included a deciding leg centred on SpaFrancorchamps. This is due to the circuit being unavailable ahead of the Belgium Grand Prix one week later, with public roads in the region due to be used instead. Ypres had been expected to host the European championship in 2022 and
2023 before it returned to the WRC in 2024, a break that would allow organisers to resolve some of the operational issues evident last year. But when an agreement with ERC promoter WRC Promoter couldn’t be reached due to issues finding a workable date, Ypres organiser Club Superstage announced it would be going it alone on June 23-25, the same weekend as the Safari Rally, with the Belgian championship headlining. Despite hinting he was not prepared to move away from Ypres’ traditional June date for a second year running, it appears the chance to host the WRC again earlier than planned has prompted another climbdown from organiser Alain Penasse, who once said the ERC would never return to Ypres after he fell out with previous promoter Eurosport Events.
Ypres might return to WRC but without a leg at the Spa circuit
FAFE CHALLENGE TO BE INCLUDED IN ERC SCHEDULE
The famous Pedra Sentada jump will feature in this year’s Euro battle
The European Rally Championship’s first Powerstage will use Fafe’s famous Lameirinha test and its Pedra Sentada jump. All ERC rounds will feature WRC-inspired Powerstages from this season with the 9.3mile mixed-surface Lameirinha an obvious contender for the opening event of the ERC’s new era from March 11-13. Although the precise timing has not been announced, the stage will be broadcast live, including on the WRC+ All Live platform, with bonus points awarded to the top five drivers. The northern Portuguese event has a new – and longer – name for 2022, Rally Serras de Fafe - Felgueiras - Cabreira e Boticas.
Katsuta has blazed a trail
Toyota has called on an ex-Subaru, Ford and Citroen old boy to help foster Japan’s next World Rally Championship star. Mikko Hirvonen, 41, has joined the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program as chief instructor and will oversee the initiative’s latest intake of three drivers during a year of training and development with the goal of giving one of them the opportunity to follow Takamoto Katsuta by competing in the WRC as a full-time Toyota driver. Eight applicants were chosen from an initial list of 60 to take part in a two-week training camp in Finland, which included sessions driving crosskarts, Rally4 cars and Toyota GR Yaris road cars, plus fitness and neurological testing. Hikaru Kogure, 20, Nao Otake, 21, and Yuki Yamamoto, 24, impressed the most and will practice preparing pacenotes and driving Rally4 cars in Japan before they relocate to Finland full time in April ahead of selected national events in Finland and Europe as part of a multi-year training scheme. “The three drivers we’ve chosen showed good determination to learn and make progress in their careers,” said Hirvonen. “They also impressed us with how much they improved within the two weeks, how they absorbed the information from the instructors and how they handled different situations under pressure. We believe they can have a really bright future in rallying. Now the real hard work begins for them but I’m sure they are ready for the challenge.” Katsuta and Hiroki Arai formed the scheme’s original intake in 2015.
PAJARI SETS SIGHTS ON JUNIOR WRC RECORD Sami Pajari will aim to emulate P-G Andersson when he contests the Junior WRC in 2022. Andersson is the only driver to win the World Rally Championship’s young driver category twice, a feat he achieved in 2004 and again in 2007. Pajari has signed up for the series –
Pajari: Monte Rally3 outing
officially titled WRC3 Junior under the FIA’s Rally Sporting Pyramid – which switches from two-wheel-drive Ford Fiesta Rally4s to four-wheel-drive Fiesta Rally3s this season. And the Finn, 20, will start the opening round in Sweden later this month with an edge over his rivals after he sampled the Ford Fiesta Rally3 during last month’s Monte Carlo Rally, winning the WRC3 Open category in the process. “It’s a new challenge with four-wheel drive,” Pajari said. “I should be familiar with [Sweden] as it is on snow and ice, [but] it’s not only me with this kind of experience.”
