JOSH MCERLEAN SECURES FOURTH PLACE FINISH AT RALLY GREECE

Josh McErlean achieved his strongest World Rally Championship result to date, finishing fourth at Rally Greece. The Motorsport Ireland driver, competing for M-Sport, completed the event ahead of championship leader Elfyn Evans, who finished seventh. Sébastien Ogier claimed victory in his Toyota, holding off Hyundai's Theirry Neuville, who secured second place. Takamoto Katsuta finished third, consolidating his title challenge.

McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy encountered difficulty on the penultimate stage when McErlean missed his braking point, losing 45 seconds as he rejoined the road. Despite this setback, McErlean maintained fourth position through the final stage, resisting pressure from pursuing competitors including Sami Pajari, Adrien Fourmaux and Evans. This result marks substantial improvement from McErlean's debut WRC season last year, when his best finish was seventh place, achieved three times. His current performance also surpasses his opening races this season, which had yielded an eighth-place finish as his best result.

Evans' puncture on Saturday's final stage proved costly to his championship lead. Ogier claimed maximum points across the rally, the Super Sunday stage and the Power Stage, narrowing his deficit to Evans to 33 points. Katsuta's additional points collection reduced Evans' advantage at the top of the standings to seven points over the Toyota driver.