ERC podium spot for Shane Byrne at Rally Poland

Bruckless navigator Shane Byrne bagged a podium spot at the weekend at Rally Poland.

Byrne, calling the notes for Kesh driver Jon Armstrong, finished third in the latest round of the 2025 European Rally Championship.

The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy crew - who will compete at this weekend’s Donegal International Rally - powered their Ford Fiesta Rally2 to third overall - 22.1 seconds clear of Sweden’s Isak Reiersen.

They quickly dialled the Fiesta Rally2 into the flat-out Rally Poland stages, setting a brace of top-three times on stages four and five to move into the top five.

Another third-fastest time on Saturday’s penultimate test put the Irish pairing into fourth overnight as Armstrong excelled in the rutted gravel stages.

On Sunday, Armstrong and Byrne posted the fastest time on the 20-kilometre Pozezdrze test, taking them up to third.

They solidified their position and the extra tally of points boosts the academy duo’s ERC hopes.

The M-Sport-built Ford Fiesta Rally2 will now take on the testing stages of the Donegal International.

The M-Sport and MI Rally Academy-backed effort is also supported by the freshly renovated Carrigart Hotel and Restaurant, CBM Signs - renowned around the world for their motorsport liveries - Hegarty’s Ford Letterkenny, Motoworld, and long-time rally sponsor Cranford Stone, as well as KES Group, Smart Modular Buildings based in Strabane and KWP Partitions & Ceilings.

Byrne has started the Donegal International four times, advancing from co-driving a Honda Civic as a clubman to delivering pace notes aboard Rally2 machines.

“It is amazing to be going to Donegal in a works car prepared by M-Sport and driven by somebody as competitive as Jon,” said Byrne.

“I always wondered if I would get the chance to compete on my home stages at this level. This year we have got that chance and we are going to make the most of it.

“People look back to the golden days of the World Rally Cars, but these are the good times for me, coming over with M-Sport in a package from the top of the European Rally Championship.”

The 160th Fiesta Rally2 to be built will be prepared and serviced by M-Sport themselves - the first factory team effort since Alastair Fisher finished second overall in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta S2000.

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Ford has a rich heritage in Donegal with M-Sport-built World Rally Car wins in the hands of Sam Moffett and Gareth MacHale as well as famous victories in the 1990s by Stephen Finlay and James Cullen aboard a Ford Escort Cosworth and a Ford Sierra. 

Finnish World Rally legend Ari Vatanen kicked off Ford’s trend of Donegal success 47 years ago in a works-supported Ford Escort RS1800.