M-SPORT RALLY ESTONIA 2026: TEAM TARGETS STRONG RESULTS ON FAST GRAVEL

McERLEAN, ARMSTRONG, SESKS AND JURGENSON PREPARE FOR ONE OF THE FASTEST EVENTS OF THE WRC SEASON

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team heads to Rally Estonia, the ninth round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship, aiming to build on encouraging performances from Acropolis Rally Greece.

The fast gravel roads around Tartu will provide a completely different challenge from Greece, with crews facing flowing roads, blind jumps and technical forest sections where precision and commitment are essential.

Following career-best performances in Greece, Josh McErlean, Jon Armstrong, Martins Sesks and home favourite Romet Jurgenson arrive in Estonia looking to continue their progress.

"Estonia is one of the fastest rallies on the WRC calendar, demanding complete trust between driver and co-driver on every stage."

HIGH-SPEED TEST AWAITS

Rally Estonia is renowned for some of the highest average speeds in the World Rally Championship, often exceeding 120 km/h. The rally features 18 special stages covering 301.80 competitive kilometres from its base in Tartu.

This year's event adopts a compact schedule, with shakedown taking place on Friday morning before competitive action begins later the same day.

After strong performances in Greece, where three Ford Puma Rally1 cars ran inside the top six during the rally, M-Sport hopes to carry that momentum onto the fast Estonian gravel.

HOME RALLY FOR JURGENSON

Estonian driver Romet Jurgenson returns to his home event in a Ford Fiesta Rally2, accompanied by co-driver Siim Oja.

Jurgenson finished fifth in WRC2 at Rally Estonia in 2025 and claimed three WRC2 stage wins, giving him confidence ahead of another appearance in front of local fans.

"Our home event in Estonia is one of the highlights of the season. The support from the fans gives us extra motivation, and we want to fight with the top drivers." - Romet Jurgenson

RALLY1 CREWS AIM TO BUILD MOMENTUM

Josh McErlean arrives after recording the strongest result of his WRC career in Greece and hopes to continue improving on the fast gravel roads.

Jon Armstrong returns to Estonia with previous experience in both the Junior WRC and European Rally Championship, while making his first Rally Estonia appearance in a Ford Puma Rally1.

Martins Sesks also returns with Rally1 experience on the Estonian stages and considers the event one of the closest rallies to his home country.

"After the demanding conditions in Greece, Estonia presents a completely different challenge with speed becoming the key factor." - Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal

RALLY ESTONIA FACTS

• Surface: Gravel

• Rally Base: Tartu

• Special Stages: 18

• Competitive Distance: 301.80 km

• Total Distance: 1,022.36 km

KEY POINTS

• M-Sport Ford heads to Rally Estonia after encouraging performances in Greece.

• Rally Estonia is the ninth round of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship.

• The rally features 18 stages covering 301.80 competitive kilometres.

• Josh McErlean arrives after his career-best WRC result at Acropolis Rally Greece.

• Jon Armstrong returns to Estonia for his first Rally1 appearance at the event.

• Martins Sesks brings previous Rally1 experience on Estonia's fast gravel roads.

• Home driver Romet Jurgenson competes in a Ford Fiesta Rally2 alongside Siim Oja.

• Jurgenson finished fifth in WRC2 at Rally Estonia in 2025 and won three WRC2 stages.

• Fast gravel roads, blind jumps and technical forest sections are expected to challenge crews throughout the weekend.

• Rally Estonia is one of the fastest events on the World Rally Championship calendar.

Car	Driver	Co-driver
#55	Josh McErlean	Eoin Treacy
#95	Jon Armstrong	Shane Byrne
#22	Martins Sesks	Renars Francis

Car	Driver	Co-driver
#35	Romet Jurgenson	Siim Oja