2026 World Rally Championship

Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy's Rahill and Smith to tackle 2026 Junior WRC

Posted: December 20, 2025 12:36 PM

JOSH MCERLEAN/EOIN TREACY RETURNS TO M-SPORT FORD FOR 2026 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP ALONGSIDE NEW RALLY1 RECRUITS JON ARMSTRONG/SHANE BYRNE

Posted: December 20, 2025 12:26 PM

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is pleased to announce an expanded collaboration with the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy in 2026.

Academy crew Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy will return to the Ford Puma Rally1 car for the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, with Rally1 newbies Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne joining the full season line-up.

McErlean and Treacy will be joined by their new Academy teammates Armstrong and Shane Byrne on the start ramp at Rallye Monte-Carlo next month. The Irish quartet will combine McErlean and Treacy’s knowledge gained throughout their maiden Rally1 season in 2025 with Armstrong’s strong JWRC and ERC experience to launch into 2026 with clear goals.

McErlean and Treacy will be harnessing the invaluable experience gained from their maiden season in the Rally1 car to advance their own performance for 2026, while also sharing their experience with their new teammates. The pair had an impressive debut season with the M-Sport team, making their first ever appearance in Monaco, just as Armstrong and Byrne will now do.

McErlean and Treacy impressed on the season’s opening round, giving a clever and consistent performance that earned them seventh overall on the icy stages of Rallye Monte-Carlo. They carried this momentum through the following rounds, navigating challenges and taking on some events for the first time in their careers. The pair had another positive performance on Rally de Portugal, finishing eighth, and matched their top result with seventh overall on Rally Finland and later again at the Central European Rally.

McErlean’s experience with the Puma Rally1 car has shown clear development throughout the 2025 season, and he and Treacy are now poised to gather even more momentum throughout 2026 to achieve more solid results.

With a career built in Ford machinery, Armstrong is a true representative of the effectiveness of the rally progression pyramid. Starting out as a British Rally Championship contender since as early as 2013 in a Ford Fiesta R2, Armstrong competed on national events before making his ERC and WRC debuts in 2015 in the ERC3 and RC4 classes, already starting to build solid experience on staple WRC rounds including Rally de Portugal and Rally Finland.

Armstrong’s achievements also include finishing twice runner-up in the Junior World Rally Championship in 2021 and 2022, in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 with M-Sport Poland, claiming wins and podiums on Junior rounds in Croatia, Sweden and Estonia and Poland to name a few.

A move to the FIA European Rally Championship in 2023 saw Armstrong extend his already impressive range of experience. Armstrong claimed five wins in the Fiesta Rally3, which saw him claim the ERC3 title. He also enjoyed the opportunity to make his debut with Rally2 machinery on the Royal Rally of Scandinavia, where he finished just outside the top ten.

In 2024 he advanced to the top-category in ERC behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta Rally2 car alongside then co-driver Eoin Treacy. A productive season in 2024, supported by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, gave Armstrong a solid knowledge base of the stages. He would harness this experience throughout 2025, now alongside Shane Byrne, to claim their first podium finishes on Rally Poland and Czech Rally Zlín, before their maiden ERC victory on Wales Rali Ceredigion. The pair delivered a dominant performance in Wales, leading the rally from the second stage all the way to the end and collecting four stage wins along the way.

After fighting for the ERC title all the way to the final day of the championship, Armstrong was runner up by only six points after another commanding win on Croatia Rally in October.

Buoyed by the confidence from their impressive 2025 performances, Armstrong and Byrne look forward to teaming up with fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew McErlean and Treacy to make the step-up into Ford Puma Rally1 machinery, debuting on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January.

The M-Sport team is thrilled to be working with the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for another season and looks forward to more strong results together throughout 2026.

Further announcements on M-Sport’s remaining line-up will be made soon.

Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal, said:
“I’m very happy to announce that we will be welcoming Josh and Eoin back to the team for the 2026 season. They had a brilliant debut season and their progression with such limited Rally1 experience was very clear to see, so it’s great to be able to give them the opportunity to continue this upward trajectory. Away from the events, they have both become much-valued members of the team and I’m really looking forward to working with them again.

“It’s also very exciting to see Jon and Shane get the opportunity to make the step-up to Rally1 machinery with us. I’m genuinely eager to see how they progress throughout 2026. Jon’s been working towards this opportunity for a long time now, and his strong ERC performances at the end of last season made it impossible to ignore him.

“I’d like to thank the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy for their support throughout the 2025 season, and I look forward to developing our partnership further as we head into 2026.”

Josh McErlean said:
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be confirmed with M-Sport for the 2026 WRC season, and I’m incredibly grateful for the continued support from both the team and the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy. We made real progress throughout 2025, and I’m excited to build on everything we learned and put it into action next year.

To have another season at this level means a lot. I’m in a completely different place mentally compared to this time last year, stronger, clearer, and ready to enjoy the challenge ahead. My focus now is on myself, performing to the best of my ability, and making the most of this fantastic opportunity with Eoin alongside me.”

Jon Armstrong said:
“I’m obviously very grateful for the opportunity to drive a Rally1 car. It’s something I’ve worked towards from a very young age, so to actually be able to compete in the top tier of rallying is definitely a dream come true. Of course, there have been years where things didn’t go our way and we weren’t sure if it would ever happen, but we’ve had a very strong season in ERC, showed our potential, and naturally you then want to see what you can do in the World Rally Championship.

“I’m very happy and extremely grateful to M-Sport, who I’ve been driving with for most of my rally career, and also to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy - without them we definitely wouldn’t be here. We’re really looking forward to the year ahead. There are going to be a lot of good times and definitely some challenges, but I think we’ve shown that we can rise to those challenges, so we just need to stay strong, enjoy it, and keep pushing forward.”

Chile finale highlights new-look FIA Junior WRC calendar

Posted: December 20, 2025 12:25 PM

The 2026 FIA Junior WRC calendar has been confirmed, with the season set to come to a close in Chile for the very first time.

In a five-round calendar confirmed today (5 December), Rally Chile Bio Bío will host the all-important double points-scoring season finale. The 2026 calendar will also see crews traveling to Sweden, Croatia, Portugal and Finland.

The championship – the stepping stone for drivers aiming to move into the FIA World Rally Championship – will once again feature M-Sport Poland Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evos equipped with Hankook Tires and lubricated by Wolf Lubricants. All events will be played out across high-profile rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Despite the addition of a round outside of Europe, the cost for competitors will not be impacted.

At stake is one of the biggest prizes in rallying – four fully-funded WRC2 rounds with testing in 2027 in an M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2 which, under the new World Rally Championship regulations, means they will be competing in the same level of car as the leading WRC category.

The frozen snow and ice-packed forest roads of Sweden will set the stage for the championship’s opening round. Based out of Umeå, 2026 will mark the fifth consecutive season that the FIA Junior WRC has begun there – often providing the first-ever competitive experience on snow for competitors.

Switching settings entirely, the next round will take place on the mixed asphalt surfaces surrounding Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb. The changing surfaces, and the possibility of rain thrown into the mix, make precise pace-notes crucial for success.

Much like 2025, Portugal returns to the calendar albeit as the third round with sandy, rutted roads awaiting the Fiesta crews on the country’s north-west coast.

The penultimate round introduces crews to what is often described as rallying’s spiritual home: Secto Rally Finland. Set in the forests surrounding the central Finnish city of Jyväskylä, courage will come to the fore with Finland providing some of the fastest roads in the world of rallying.

The 2026 champion will be crowned in the central Chilean city of Concepción. A regular stop on the full WRC calendar, Chile provides competitors with fast-flowing and sometimes incredibly narrow forestry roads. Weather could also play a major part in the final result with heavy rain and fog a regular occurrence on this event.

“South America has produced a strong staple of junior crews in recent years, such as WRC3 champion and Junior runner-up Diego Domínguez. It therefore feels fitting that we are visiting this part of the world in 2026,” enthused FIA Junior WRC championship manager Maciej Woda.

He continued: “Overall, the 2026 calendar offers a good mixture of challenges that reflect the WRC calendar as a whole and in order to win the title, crews will need to be able to display the adaptability to compete in a full array of conditions.”

FIA Road Sport Director Emilia Abel, added: “The 2026 FIA Junior WRC calendar gives the next generation of WRC talent a clearly defined and diverse development pathway.

Each round presents a distinct technical challenge, from Sweden’s snowbanks to Chile’s fast and narrow forestry roads, and this variety is essential in preparing young drivers for the demands of the senior categories.

We are confident that this calendar will equip emerging crews with the depth of experience required to progress toward the highest levels of the sport.”

Full dates:

1. Rally Sweden 12-15 February
2. Croatia Rally 9-12 April
3. Vodafone Rally de Portugal 7-10 May
4. Secto Rally Finland 30 July-2 August
5. Rally Chile Bio Bío 10-13 September

2026 FIA World Rally Championship calendar revealed

Posted: December 20, 2025 12:23 PM

Strategic tweaks, global reach and a stronger sporting rhythm headline WRC’s 14-round 2026 schedule.

The FIA and WRC Promoter have today unveiled the calendar for the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), confirming 14 rounds across four continents as the series continues to blend classic challenges with global reach.

The season begins at Rallye Monte-Carlo from 22 - 25 January, with crews tackling France’s icy alpine roads in one of rallying’s most iconic settings. A spectacular street stage in downtown Monte Carlo on Saturday evening adds extra drama and glamour to an already demanding weekend. It’s the start of a calendar that blends snow, gravel and asphalt events - including returning rounds in the Canary Islands and Paraguay following their introductions in 2025 - before culminating in the desert terrain of Saudi Arabia from 11 - 14 November.

Notably, the opening half of the year brings a welcome mix of surfaces. Asphalt rallies in Croatia, the Canary Islands and Japan complement the snow of Sweden and gravel outings in Kenya and Portugal, ensuring variety from the very start of the season.

Crucially, the decision to reposition Rally Japan into a May slot adds a meaningful sporting benefit. By interrupting what would otherwise be a long sequence of gravel rallies, the move helps to limit the impact of road sweeping for early championship leaders - reinforcing WRC’s commitment to fairer, more competitive conditions.

“This is a calendar built with purpose,” said WRC Promoter Managing Director Jona Siebel. “It’s diverse, it flows well, and it reflects the feedback we’ve had from teams, drivers and stakeholders. We’ve put real thought into how the sequence of events can impact the sporting fight.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: "The 2026 WRC calendar is a powerful reflection of the championship’s global strength and appeal. It combines the heritage of iconic rallies with the return of newer events in regions where participation and interest in rallying continues to grow.”

Championship Rounds

Posted: December 20, 2025 12:19 PM

1. Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo - 22-25 Jan 26
2. Rally Sweden (J) - 12-15 Feb 26
3. Safari Rally Kenya - 12-15 Mar 26
4. Croatia Rally (J) - 9-12 Apr 26
5. Rally Islas Canarias - 23-26 Apr 26
6. Rally de Portugal (J) - 7-10 May 26
7. Rally Japan - 28-31 May 26
8. Acropolis Rally Greece - 25-28 Jun 26
9. Rally Estonia - 16-19 Jul 26
10. Rally Finland (J) - 30 Jul-2 Aug 26
11. Rally del Paraguay - 27-30 Aug 26
12. Rally Chile (J) - 10-13 Sep 26
13. Rally Italia Sardegna - 1-4 Oct 26
14. Rally Saudi Arabia - 11-14 Nov 26
    
    J - Counting Round WRC Junior Championship

www.wrc.com