M-Sport Sees Major Opportunity at Rally Greece 2026

M-Sport Ford WRT believes Rally Greece 2026 could present a valuable opportunity as the World Rally Championship resumes next week. The team expects its favourable road positions to play a significant role on one of the most demanding gravel rallies of the season.

This year's event features major changes. Rally headquarters have moved from Lamia to Loutraki, approximately 280 kilometres further south, while the route includes more than 320 kilometres of competitive stages made up of new tests, returning stages and sections used in previous editions.

Despite the changes, Rally Greece remains famous for its rocky and unforgiving conditions. The event consistently places heavy stress on machinery, making reliability and problem avoidance just as important as outright pace throughout the weekend.

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Josh McErlean, Jon Armstrong, Martins Sesks and Jourdan Serderidis will all start relatively far down the order. That could prove advantageous, particularly with five of Friday's six stages being run only once, increasing the importance of road position.

"It will be hot, rocky and tough in Greece as always, but I think it also presents an opportunity because the rally could become a real lottery. There are a lot of new stages and plenty of first passes, which should suit us because of our starting position," said McErlean.

The Irish driver believes almost anything can happen in Greece. According to him, making the most of road position while avoiding rocks and punctures will be critical if the team is to challenge for a strong result.

Armstrong shares a similar view. The Northern Irishman is preparing for only his second Rally Greece appearance after finishing second in Junior WRC in 2022. He expects punctures and technical issues to play a major role and believes staying out of trouble could unlock a strong finish. M-Sport also arrives with a rich history at the event, having secured eight victories, including its most recent success with Mikko Hirvonen in 2009.