Heading into the sixth round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship next week, the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team’s six crews brace themselves for a scorching return to Rally Italia Sardegna
The Italian follow-up to the championship’s previous round in Portugal promises to turn up the heat - delivering rougher, faster, and tighter stages in even more unforgiving temperatures. Grégoire Munster, Josh McErlean, and Mārtiņš Sesks are joined by Jourdan Serderidis in Puma Rally1 machinery, while Romet Jürgenson and Pierre-Louis Loubet prepare to pilot a pair of Fiesta Rally2 cars.
Returning to the island’s northeast coast, this year’s edition of Rally Italia Sardegna will be based in Olbia and follow a traditional format: two loops of three stages on Friday and Saturday, followed by a slightly shorter day on Sunday, which ends with the classic Wolf Power Stage.
Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka, excited to return to Sardinia for their third attack on the brutal stages, will be buoyed by their strong performance in 2024, where they achieved their career-best WRC result with fifth overall. The Luxembourg-Belgian pairing delivered a faultless drive last year, avoiding the punctures and pitfalls that plagued other crews. They’ll look to adopt the same approach at next week’s event.
Following a fantastic performance on Rally de Portugal earlier this month, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-backed crew Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy are hoping to carry that momentum into Sardinia. This year marks McErlean’s fourth time competing on the island, though it will be his first in Rally1 machinery. Well-suited to the event’s rugged profile, McErlean collected eight top-five stage times in the WRC2 category last year and will aim to replicate that pace next week.
Returning to Sardinia for the first time since 2020, Mārtiņš Sesks hopes to make an impact after an early puncture in Portugal dashed his chances of a strong result. Sesks claimed third overall in the Junior category in 2020 after taking six stage wins throughout the weekend. His skill on gravel, combined with his knowledge of the Sardinian stages, should support him and co-driver Renārs Francis in securing a strong result on the island.
Also making their Rally1 debut in Sardinia are Jourdan Serderidis and Fred Miclotte, returning for their third outing with the team in 2025 after recently claiming their career-best finish - eighth overall - on Safari Rally Kenya. Having taken second overall in the WRC2 Master category in Sardinia in 2022, Serderidis brings his usual charm and rally enthusiasm to the island and is targeting another strong finish.
Jürgenson and Loubet also return alongside co-drivers Siim Oja and Loris Pascaud in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 cars. With both crews achieving strong results on a challenging Rally de Portugal, they aim to show once again what the Fiesta is capable of in Sardinia. Jürgenson made his debut on the event last year as part of the Junior World Rally Championship and will look to carry that experience into this year’s rally to support his continued learning and impressive pace in Rally2 machinery.
Almost considered a local to the island, Corsican-born Loubet will enjoy his tenth appearance in Sardinia next week - his first outing here in the Fiesta Rally2. The Frenchman will enjoy the nostalgia of being back with the team in a place where he achieved his career-best result, finishing fourth overall in 2022. Loubet will look to use his experience to his advantage and hunt down another top-ten finish in the RC2 category.
Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Principal, said:
“Sardinia is always one of the toughest challenges of the year and it looks like next week’s event will be no different. With the weather we’re set to have, managing the tyres and the temperature inside the car is going to be the main challenge.
“Our crews are well-prepared for the rough gravel conditions after Rally de Portugal a few weeks ago, and after a positive pre-event test in Sardinia we are looking forward to making more progress during the rally next week.”
Grégoire Munster said:
“Sardinia is another long-standing event on the WRC calendar, and it’s also where we scored our first top-five result last year, so we’re hoping for a good feeling again! It’s a well-known event, but really quite different to Portugal. The stages can be a lot rougher, and their characteristics vary a lot - sandy, rocky, narrow, and technical.
“There are also a couple of new stages, which will make it interesting for everyone, especially the M-Sport crews as we’re a bit less experienced. We’ve done some good testing and gained some real positives, so hopefully we can see that benefit on the event. And hopefully it stays sunny and dry!”
Josh McErlean said:
“Rally Sardinia is one of the toughest events on the European calendar - rough, technical, and relentless. But you have to learn to love this rally. It’s a real test for both car and crew, and that’s exactly what makes it so rewarding. We had a positive run in Portugal, and the goal is to carry that rhythm into this weekend.”
Mārtiņš Sesks said:
“After quite an eventful rally in Portugal, I think we’re looking for a trouble-free week to regain some consistency. That’s the goal for Sardinia, because - just like Portugal - it will be our first time there in four-wheel-drive machinery. There will be lots of learning again, and nothing will be easy, but let’s see what it brings!”
Jourdan Serderidis said:
“Happy to be back in the WRC after our top result in Kenya! We come to Olbia with reasonable optimism; we have good memories from Sardinia 2022 in WRC2, and we had an excellent test last week where we discovered an enhanced package for the Puma. On the technical stages of the island, we believe a top-20 finish is possible for us.”
Romet Jürgenson said:
“I think going into Sardinia I already feel more confident compared to Portugal. In the past we’ve done some testing there with the Rally3 car and the FIA Rally Star team, and we competed in the rally last year, unfortunately not the full event, but we still gained experience, which definitely helps.
“With the car, on Sunday in Portugal we felt like we were in a good place, so I definitely expect a better performance from myself in Sardinia.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet said:
“I’m very pleased to be in Sardinia again, a place where I have so many nice memories - especially from 2022 when we were fighting for the podium in the Rally1 car! I hope I’ll be able to progress with the car during the event and try to get closer to the top. I’m really happy with the work of my engineer and the team to optimise everything with the car, so let’s see what we can do!”.
