Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award nominee Josh McErlean will contest the iconic Monza Rally Show in Italy in December behind the wheel of a Hyundai i20 R5.

The progressive Co. Derry driver steps back into a Hyundai for the crowd-pleasing spectacular thanks to the support of his backers and will be co-driven by Keaton Williams. The i20 R5 will be run by the Italian outfit, PromoRacing Team.

The 20-year-old from Kilrea has enjoyed a dream season behind the wheel of his Peugeot 208 R2 in the Junior British Rally Championship, sealing the coveted title with one round to go.

With support from the British Rally Championship and Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing, McErlean took the next step of his career just a few months later, landing a drive at Britain’s round of the FIA World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB in a Hyundai i20 R5. A mature approach from the youngster saw him regularly set top ten times before a technical issue halted his progress.

Motorsport icons such as seven-time time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi, Formula One ace Robert Kubica and Hyundai WRC star Dani Sordo have competed on the event previously which uses the circuit and perimeter roads to make up the event’s eight stages.