Ulster racer Josh McErlean set for world championship in Spain

McErlean, who hails from Kilrea village on the Co Antrim / Co Londonderry border, will tackle round 11 of the series, Rally RACC Catalunya – Rally de España, on the outskirts of Barcelona.

He will be joined by James Fulton in the co-driver’s seat of the PCRS Rallysport Hyundai i20.

In a statement from his team this morning, the 22-year-old said: “This is a really exciting prospect for me, and I realise how very lucky I am to be getting yet another opportunity to tackle a World Rally Championship event on such challenging stages.

“We have been working really hard to pull this together and it’s yet another step in developing my knowledge and experience of World Championship rallies. There is a great team behind this project now and we have very clear goals for the future...

““Like all the events in the WRC, these stages really do have their own unique characteristics, so it will be another big learning exercise for me.

“It’s great to have James [Fulton] in the car once again to build on our initial outing in Ypres.

“We built an excellent relationship there and we now have a great synergy in the car which will help with the development process.

“I’ve done a lot of homework since Ypres to prepare for Spain.

“It’s an interesting time that’s for sure and once again I`m indebted to the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy and all my backers for their continued support.”

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