The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team began their 2025 FIA World Rally Championship campaign with a weekend of promising performances at the iconic Rallye Monte-Carlo. Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean both delivered standout moments in the memorable season opener, as Munster claimed his first-ever WRC stage win and McErlean finished seventh overall and claimed six championship points on his Rally1 debut.
The event began with its classic ceremonial start in the iconic Casino Square of Monte-Carlo. Grégoire Munster, Louis Louka, Josh McErlean, and Eoin Treacy shared their excitement as they prepared to start the new season. The crews were immediately put to the test by three challenging night stages, marking a baptism of fire for McErlean and Treacy. Both crews made it through to the service park in Gap, setting the stage for a weekend of thrilling action.
Grégoire Munster demonstrated his potential on the world stage this weekend, setting himself up for a positive 2025 season. The Luxembourg driver set a strong pace on Friday morning, clocking the second-fastest time on the day’s opening stage. Pushing hard again on SS6, Munster was getting tantalizingly close to a first stage victory. Munster was set to finish the day sixth overall, when a mechanical issue on the road section back disappointingly meant the pair had to retire for the day.
Rejoining the rally under Super Rally rules on Saturday, Munster made a spectacular comeback. Taking advantage of his road-opening position, he claimed his maiden WRC stage win on SS10, beating Sébastien Ogier by 0.8 seconds. A moment long in the making, a thrilled Munster and Louka celebrated the important career milestone, fuelling their confidence for the remainder of the day, and proving their ability to compete against the sport’s best.
On Sunday, Munster’s clean start was marred by bad luck when a patch of black ice on SS17 caused the rear of his Puma to strike rocks at the side of the road, damaging the suspension and ending their rally, one stage too early. Despite a premature end to the event, Munster leaves Monte-Carlo with his first stage win, more invaluable experience and the confidence of a strong start to the season that will carry him into Sweden next month.
Josh McErlean delivered a textbook debut outing in the Puma Rally1 on this week’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.With limited seat time ahead of the event, McErlean delivered a measured and composed drive, finishing an impressive seventh overall in his first appearance in the championship’s top category.
McErlean and co-driver Eoin Treacy would grow in confidence throughout the weekend, gaining valuable seconds per kilometre as the days went on. Keeping his foot in on Friday’s tricky, muddy stages, the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-backed McErlean would have a clean day and steadily improve his stage times. Navigating the notoriously challenging Monte stages, McErlean ended the day 11th overall, with the top ten well within his reach.
On Saturday, he continued this upward trajectory, managing well in the low-grip and slippery conditions while adapting to the increased power of his new Rally1 machinery. With pace and confidence growing with every stage completed, the Irish pairing cracked the top-ten positions on Saturday afternoon, and ended the day in ninth.
Sunday brought even greater rewards for McErlean. His mature and consistent approach paid off as he climbed into seventh overall, after SS16’s dark and icy conditions caused Katsuta and Pajari to both go off the road and out of the event. McErlean’s clean and steady driving across the tough final stages capped off an impressive debut and claimed the Irish pairing six championship points to start the season in style.
Now a short turnaround before the next round in Sweden, M-Sport’s crews will prepare for their next challenge on the championship season’s only full-snow event.
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
“Obviously it is a huge shame that Greg and Louis didn't make it to the end of the event, having the opening road position the last two days has been an advantage in some ways, but today showed it can also be a disadvantage - being the first crew to find the tricky black ice sections. But still, they can go away from here very happy - proving that they have what it takes to mix with the top crews, and they claimed their first ever stage win, what a great job.
“For Josh and Eoin, this weekend was a pure baptism of fire, it was a proper Monte and I think the amount of information and work that goes into being involved with a Manufacturer Team was a big eye opener for them both. Regardless of this, they did everything we asked of them - get the car home in one piece. They got more confident and quicker as the weekend went on and they leave here with Championship points in the bag - where other far more experienced crews leave empty handed.
“A big well done to both crews and all of the team, Monte is never easy, but we can go away with our heads held high.”
Josh McErlean, Seventh Overall, said:
"Seventh overall at the Monte-Carlo Rally! What a way to kick off our Rally1 debut with the Ford Puma. It’s been a massive challenge with so many new elements - new car, new team, new co-driver, and Hankook tyres - but we kept our heads, did our own thing and learnt every step of the way. The conditions have been so demanding but it’s been thoroughly enjoyable! Huge thanks to everyone who made this possible - we're excited for our next event and to the snow of Sweden.
"It’s been an unforgettable experience, and I’m proud of what we achieved out there. The boys and girls at M-Sport have been phenomenal!"
Grégoire Munster, retired Sunday, said:
“I think there are quite a lot of positives to mention, I think generally we had some good pace and really improved day after day. We posted a fourth-fastest time on Thursday, two second-fastest on Friday and then our first stage win in the morning on Saturday. So we’ve been consistently improving, and we’ve learned a lot as well. Thanks to the team for working late on Friday night to fix the car so we could go again on Saturday. It gave us a chance to grab some more experience which was super important, especially because we’re driving on the new tyres."
Published 26 January 2025