M-Sport Backs McErlean After Acropolis Breakthrough

Josh McErlean received the full backing of M-Sport Ford team principal Richard Millener after achieving his best FIA World Rally Championship result at the 2026 Acropolis Rally Greece. McErlean initially reached the finish in fourth place before a one-minute stewards’ penalty dropped him to sixth.

The revised result did not diminish M-Sport’s positive assessment of his performance across the weekend. Sixth still represented McErlean’s strongest WRC finish, while his pace demonstrated important progress in managing pressure, difficult road conditions and direct competition during the final leg.

McErlean began Sunday holding a margin of almost 45 seconds over Adrien Fourmaux in fourth position. Fourmaux later suffered a puncture, but the threat shifted to Sami Pajari, who launched a late attack and completed the rally just over six seconds behind the M-Sport driver.

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The situation became more difficult when McErlean briefly went off the road on the penultimate special stage. The mistake erased most of the advantage he had built and forced him to defend the position with a car that was no longer in ideal condition, including substantial damage around the front wheel.

“What will matter when we look back on it next week is that he pushed like hell on the final stage and managed to keep Sami Pajari behind all the way to the finish, even though a huge chunk was missing from the front wheel. That was an incredible performance,” Millener said.

Millener also highlighted McErlean’s work while opening the road. That position normally leaves a driver dealing with a looser surface and reduced grip, but McErlean continued to produce competitive stage times and was consistently faster than several drivers running among the established frontrunners.

Team-mate Jon Armstrong also demonstrated significant potential during the opening leg. Armstrong set the fastest time on one of Friday’s stages and was running third overall before a turbo problem forced his retirement. Millener viewed the setback as part of the learning process required at the highest level of the WRC.

The Acropolis result provided M-Sport with two positive indicators despite failing to retain the position initially celebrated at the finish. McErlean proved capable of protecting a major result under pressure from Pajari and Toyota, while Armstrong showed the speed required to compete near the front. The team’s next task is to convert that pace into more consistent results without mistakes, mechanical failures or penalties reducing its final potential.