McErlean endures cruel Rallye Monte Carlo as extreme conditions define season opener

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver Josh McErlean’s second FIA World Rally Championship Rally1 season began in the harshest of circumstances last weekend [22-25 January], as one of the most punishing Rallye Monte Carlo events in decades saw unrelenting snow, thick ice and ever-changing wintery conditions challenge the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team crews to the limit.

The 2026 season opener proved to be one of the toughest tests of survival, with heavy snowfall and black ice lining the famous mountain roads throughout the weekend, making simply staying on the road one of the greatest challenges. The rally began on Thursday afternoon in relatively normal wet conditions, but even then, tyre selection proved a compromise, with later stages promising below freezing temperatures. The opening stages gave little indication of the extreme conditions that were to follow.

Stage two, however, quickly highlighted the scale of the challenge. What started damp, soon deteriorated into a treacherous mix of snow, ice and freezing slush. Just five kilometres into the 23-kilometre test, a left-hand corner over a bridge caught out many of the leading crews. While several were able to recover after spins, McErlean was less fortunate. Running wide on the exit, at the same corner that also claimed Toyota’s Sami Pajari, the M-Sport Ford Puma slid into the undergrowth and could not be extracted in the deep snow, bringing an early end to Thursday’s leg.

Restarting on Friday, McErlean faced an even tougher task. Following his Thursday retirement, he would now open the road, often acting as a snowplough for those behind. With conditions continuing to fluctuate dramatically, tyre choice remained a difficult balancing act between studded tyres for ice and snow, and alternatives better suited to wet asphalt.

Despite the challenge, McErlean produced several encouraging stage times as he continued to rebuild confidence. A bold tyre choice on Friday afternoon showed promise, but on the final stage of the day, the cost of opening the road was evident. A gentle understeer into a ditch, combined with a lack of nearby spectators to assist, ended his Friday just a few miles from the finish of the leg.

Saturday featured just four stages, and once again McErlean led the field onto the road. Battling continued wintry conditions, he completed the day, rounding it off with a spectacular run through the iconic Monaco Circuit Street Stage in front of the impressive harbour-side crowds.

Still first on the road on Sunday morning, McErlean adopted a cautious approach over the final three stages, each littered with snow, ice and slush that changed dramatically with every passing car. Cruelly, on the penultimate stage of the rally, he was caught out by slush on a mountain pass and was sent into a barrier. Although McErlean managed to limp to the end of the stage, the damage forced a final retirement and brought an end to a deeply challenging weekend.

“It’s been a really tough Rallye Monte-Carlo for me personally, and not the start to the season I wanted, I’d say one of the toughest weekends I’ve had in my Rally1 career”, said a reflective McErlean. “Monte can catch anyone out, and this year it was as extreme as I’ve ever experienced. We put ourselves on the back foot after Thursday, and from then on, we were up against it, but I will admit we should have done better. The conditions were incredibly severe and tested everyone, and I don’t think any one of us had a trouble-free run, but sadly, we had more than our fair share this weekend. As always, the backing from M-Sport and the whole team never wavered, and there are still positives to take away. The gravel note crew did a great job, and I’m grateful for all the fan support throughout a difficult weekend. Of course, after the strong start we had here last year, expectations were high, so this is a bitter pill to swallow, but we can’t dwell on it. We have to take the lessons, accept that we need to handle these situations better in the future, and use this experience to come back stronger. The focus now is on resetting and showing what we’re capable of in Sweden.”

The FIA World Rally Championship continues with a wintery theme next month with the second round of the season at Rally Sweden.

McErlean is backed by Woodland NI, Admore Air Conditioning, M.P Burke Transport, SDC Trailers, EC Framing, Tulach Properties, Carbon Fusion, Fastener Connections and McCormack Contracting Inc.

Image credit: M-Sport and Red Bull Content Pool