Goggles, masks, punctures and zebras: Josh McErlean delighted to finish ‘surreal’ Safari Rally Kenya

McErlean ended the four-leg event 10th overall and leaves Naivasha satisfied with the performance in light of the obstacles — and setbacks — he had to overcome with co-diving team-mate, Eoin Treacy.

The Safari bared its teeth to the Kilrea native on Friday afternoon when a spare wheel in the rear of his Puma Rally1 came loose, damaging the boot and creating a hole that allowed plumes of dust into the cabin. With the car still driveable, the team-mates took to wearing safety goggles and dust masks to make it back to service.

Saturday presented fresh problems for the Irish crew, firstly a puncture after they hit a rock on ‘Sleeping Warrior’ before a bent steering arm needed fixing only a handful of miles further down the road.

A brush with a herd of zebra on Sunday, and a damaged wheel on the end-of-rally Power Stage, rubbed further salt into the wounds, however a finish — and a second quickest time on Saturday’s final test that handed M-Sport its first one-two stage finish in the WRC in nearly three years — meant his toil was rewarded.

“It is one of those events you come into it and you know that with it being the Safari, it is going to be Safari-like conditions, but honestly, until you actually do it — and until you experience it — you never fully appreciate what it is all about,” reflected the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-supported driver.

“I think this weekend we have got to experience every possible scenario — the weather, the stages and the differences in the stages, and the problems we had during it — but we never gave up. We kept being determined, fixing the problems when we had them, and yeah, we made it to the finish. Perseverance is big thing when it comes to this rally and I think we can take a lot of positives from it going forward.

“It has been quite crazy, quite surreal, and honestly, it is just nice to get to the finish. Okay, we had our problems but we stuck at it, we managed to get to the finish so, for me, it is nice to be standing here.

“When you come to Safari, you have to expect these conditions; it is all part of what makes this event so special and so challenging. It is a non-European event, so to be able to come out here and put on a show for the fans here and everyone watching around the world really is a great honour.”

Elfyn Evans won the Safari Rally to make it consecutive WRC joy for the first time in his career and become the first British driver since the late Colin McRae in 2022 to finish on the top step of the event’s podium.

His advantage over second-placed Ott Tanak of Hyundai Motorsport by a minute and 10 seconds carved open the largest lead in the history of the WRC after three rounds to 36 points. Like every other driver, Evans had his own issues, including an electrical glitch he had to nurse throughout Sunday.