The newest member of the WRC's Rally1 club: Shane Byrne
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Car
Nissan Micra
The Nissan Micra is a small car made for city driving. It’s easy to park and drive in tight spaces. The podcast specifically mentions a four-door version, meaning it has extra doors for getting in and out more easily.
Car
Mark II Escorts
“Mark II Escorts” are older Ford Escorts that people have used in rally racing. Different versions can behave very differently depending on how they’re built and set up.
Concept
track day
A track day is when you drive on a race track with other drivers, usually for practice. It’s not the same as rallying because rally stages are more varied and unpredictable.
Term
WRC car
A WRC car is a rally race car made for the World Rally Championship. It’s built to handle slippery roads and still stay controllable at speed.
Term
two-wheel drive
Two-wheel drive means the car only powers two wheels, not all four. On rally roads, that can change how the car grips and how it feels when you accelerate.
Term
traction control
Traction control helps prevent the wheels from spinning when the road is slippery. It manages power so the car can keep moving forward without losing grip.
Concept
WRC had to offer
“WRC had to offer” is basically talking about the World Rally Championship as the big, top-level rally scene. It’s why watching a rally there felt like a special experience.
Car
Evo 9
An “Evo 9” is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution from the ninth generation. It’s a turbocharged, rally-style car that many people used in competitions because it’s quick and tunable.
Concept
midpoint radio 2
That phrase sounds like a specific rally radio call point in the schedule. Rally events use organized radio communication so everyone stays on the right timing and gets the right updates.
Concept
herping race
“Herping” is a hobby where people look for reptiles and amphibians. Here, the speaker is probably joking that the rally felt like it involved wildlife spotting more than normal driving.
Car
BMW E36
The BMW 3 Series is a popular BMW model line, usually a small luxury car. The “E36 M3” mentioned in the podcast is a high-performance version from an older generation of the 3 Series. People talk about it because it’s known for being fun to drive.
Car
BMW M3
“E36 M3” means a BMW M3 from the E36 generation. It’s a popular older BMW performance car that many drivers like because it handles well and is easy to modify.
Car
Ford Puma
The Ford Puma is a small car that sits higher than a typical sedan, making it easier to get in and out of. It’s meant for normal daily driving, like commuting and errands. In the podcast, it’s being picked as a straightforward, reliable option.
Car
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door American car that’s known for a sporty, classic look. It’s often associated with stronger engines from its era. The podcast is talking about it as a tough, capable choice—especially when comparing different Monte Carlo cars.
Topic
Monte Carlo rally pace and Sunday conditions
This segment discusses how rally pace at Monte Carlo can defy expectations, especially on Sunday as conditions change. The hosts connect that to how different car categories can end up running quicker depending on grip and the evolving road.
Concept
rally threes
“Rally threes” are a lower class of rally cars than the top Rally1 cars. In this story, the lower-class cars were surprisingly quick because the track got better over the day.
Concept
road was improving all the time
In rallying, “road improving” means the surface gets faster as more cars pass—often due to rubber being laid down, dust clearing, and the line becoming more predictable. That can let later starters or different car classes post better times than you’d expect from paper specs alone.
Concept
WRC Rally1
WRC Rally1 is the top level of rally cars in the World Rally Championship. It means the newest, most advanced ruleset and cars—so competing in Rally1 is a big step up.
Concept
punctures
A puncture is when a tire gets damaged and goes flat. In rallying, that can slow you down a lot and sometimes end your day if you can’t keep going.
Concept
manage your lead
If you’re in first place, you don’t always drive flat-out the whole time. You balance going fast with not making mistakes, especially when the weather or track changes and other drivers are catching you.
Concept
DNF
DNF means the driver didn’t finish the rally. Usually that’s because something went wrong—like a crash or a mechanical failure—so they couldn’t complete the stages.
Concept
power stage
A power stage is the last special stage of the rally where drivers can earn extra points. Even if the overall result is close or decided, people still push hard to be fastest there.
Term
power steering
Power steering helps you turn the wheel with less effort. If a car doesn’t have it, the steering feels heavier, which is tough in slow, tight corners.
Term
handbrake
In rally cars, the handbrake isn’t just for parking. Drivers can pull it briefly to help the car rotate and turn more sharply in tight corners.
Term
shifted the gear down
Downshifting is when you choose a lower gear. It helps the car respond better when you need to accelerate or control the car coming out of a turn.
Concept
car rotate
“Rotate” here means how the car pivots to point into the turn. Drivers try to get the car to turn the right way at the right time so they can keep control and carry speed.
Term
pace notes
Pace notes are the co-driver’s “instructions” for what the road is about to do. They help the driver know what’s coming so they can go fast without guessing.
Term
understeer
Understeer is when the car doesn’t turn as sharply as you want. It usually happens when the front tires lose grip, so the car “pushes” wide in a corner.
Term
runner two
“Runner two” sounds like a training run used to practice calling the notes and getting the timing right. It helps the co-driver learn how to communicate clearly as the pace builds.
Term
slowing
In rally pace notes, “slowing” is a shorthand command indicating a required reduction in speed for an upcoming section. It’s one of several standardized (but driver-specific) words used to communicate braking intensity and timing without long sentences.
Term
big stop
“Big stop” is a short rally instruction meaning the driver needs to slow down a lot for the next part. It’s meant to be clear and fast to understand while driving.
Concept
recce
Recce is the practice run-through before the rally stage, where the team studies the route and writes down instructions. Those notes are what the co-driver reads during the race.
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Imagine this, you've just won your very first international rally in the European Rally Championship.
This is September 2025.
Little do you know that your career is about to take an even bigger upturn in just a matter
of months.
You show up to M Sports headquarters at the end of the year thinking you're there just
to celebrate the year you've had in Rally 2, but then you're told you're going to be
in the World Rally Championship in a Rally 1 car.
My guest today on Spin the Rally Pod was in that exact situation.
Shane Byrne, what a pleasure it is to have you with us today.
Thanks very much for your time.
Hey look, you're giving me goosebumps listening to that opener.
It's good to be on and I feel like a proper celebrity now being on dirtfish.
There it is.
That's it.
That's the sign that you've made it.
But do you know what's weird, is it?
Because I was reading that and for me it is literally a script, but it could be a script,
couldn't it?
But that's actually your life.
That is what happened in such a short space of time.
It's quite mental and we'll get into it in full, but it is quite mental how that's all
come to be for you.
Yeah, it's been like we're X amount of events now under the WRC this year, but like looking
back for the last two to three events of the URC and at the back of 2025 it was just, yeah,
just everything was going good and things move fast.
And as you say, the whole announcement for what 2026 would be for John and me, it was,
yeah, it was a crazy time and it was so exciting.
And we were actually the last two guys probably to know about it, which was all the better
because it left the excitement a lot more for us on the day.
So, yeah, it's still a good response, as I was saying, when you're listening back to that
because you're reliving that moment.
Yeah, it is quite mental and I have to say you're referencing obviously that announcement.
It's quite funny that I had a chat to Josh before it was all announced and he knew at
that point, obviously he didn't even tell me, he couldn't obviously, but not even like
off the record between us, he wouldn't tell me.
I tried to ask him, he wouldn't tell me and he insisted he didn't know.
So I think fair play to Josh and Owen for keeping that from you two.
That must have been quite difficult for them to keep a straight face.
I don't know what we were talking about that week or maybe we're planning something, but
like, Owen was saying to me, I was talking to Owen that on the week of M-Sport.
Oh, we're talking about, I don't know what it was now, it was like lift to the airport
and who was going with who and was there room in this car to go with such a person.
And after the announcement, Owen was like, he's just, I was trying to avoid your phone
calls all week because he's just, I was afraid to let it slip.
And he's like, so you still didn't know even on the lead up to it.
I think no, we hadn't a notion like, and he's like, yeah, we're finding it difficult
like to keep it from us because, you know, it could so easily slip out in a conversation,
but not kudos to Josh and Owen for keeping a secret.
Well played.
And obviously to you and John for doing the job to earn this chance, we're going to get
into all of that, of course, throughout this podcast, but I'd like to start, if I may,
with some kind of quickfire-ish questions to kind of get to know you a little bit better.
I don't know the answers to these either.
I'm sure most of the listeners won't.
It's not a test or a quiz or a pressure.
It's just purely to understand more about Shane Burns past and rallying, as it were.
But my very first question, quite simply, is what was your first car?
And that can be competition or non-competition up to you, or both?
A four door Nissan Micra.
Nice.
Okay.
What generate, is that the, what I would call the kit car generation Micra, or the one
after that with the more like, well, this was a road car, but it was 1999 was the year
of it.
Right.
Yeah.
So it's that.
Okay.
It's the cool one.
And no, no disrespect to my granny, but she had the one after and it wasn't the best car.
I drove the newer model also.
So yeah.
Can you call them cool?
I'm not sure.
It depends.
You've got to contextualize it, haven't you?
In the, in the context of a first car, mine, I'm just a couple years younger than you.
My first car was an 04 Fiesta, very basic, but it felt like the best thing in the world
at the time.
Cause it was freedom, wasn't it?
It's wheels.
So you're away.
But it was quite bad.
The front, the passenger, what's the phrase?
Well, passenger, what's the door?
The passenger seat wouldn't move forward.
It wouldn't recline.
So we had to get like a clothes peg to like make it work.
It was all very secondhand and it was shared with my brother, but it was the best car I've
had, even though it definitely wasn't the best.
You'll have to go and check now to see if you can buy that car back at some stage.
I know who's got it.
It was my dad's, this is going to get convoluted.
My dad's partner's brother who then gave it to his two children.
And I don't actually know them what happened to that.
That was a few years ago, but yeah, that could be a project down the line.
I could do a learning mechanics as well as maybe that's the move.
But do you remember your first competition car as well?
The first rally car you ever sat in?
Yes.
It was a Ford Escort, Mark II.
It's a guy that lives 25 minutes on the road from me.
It was on the St Angelo air track.
The May Day stages rally 2014.
So I can actually still remember.
I think we don't maybe five or six runs that day, but I can still remember.
Most of them runs we had quite a, we're using quite old tires that day.
And we come in a tree right.
What should be like a relatively fast note and Barry McGill's name, Barry's notes.
And it was just lock to lock.
We had a massive spin, you know.
So that was my first moment, if you want to call it, in rallying terms.
And I think we slid onto the grass a little bit, but being on an airfield,
you can't really do much damage, so everything is okay.
But no, I can still remember that.
And I had all the fancy rally gear and I bought everything from me first day out.
So no good memories.
It's amazing how that sticks to you, isn't it?
Like, I don't know how many rallies you've done in your career since,
but you probably didn't know at the time that that would stick with you for that long.
Obviously it's a big deal, isn't it?
You've waited so long to get that chance.
But yeah, I think it's funny how the brain latches onto these things.
He's like massive seminal moments in your head.
Yeah, because I haven't sat in many Mark II Escorts since, I think I've done.
I've done another track day and maybe a little bit of testing before,
but never actually done a rallying one, I don't think.
But no, they're an awesome machine.
Obviously, different types, different specs in the Escorts,
and like some of them are like a two-wheel drive WRC car, you know,
they have traction control and there's just absolutely rapid and straight line, like,
you know, serious, serious bit of engineering.
Yeah, the spaceships now aren't they?
The modified cars now, they're quite crazy.
But this all brings me on to my second question.
I was just, that wasn't very quick for I, was it?
This one is your first rallying experience.
So we've kind of touched on in the car, but do you remember the first time you were,
I guess, around rallying and realise maybe this is something that you wanted to do with your life?
Yeah, it's actually, so my dad and a couple of his mates had come out to spectate a rally in Portugal.
Never, probably were never, there were maybe one or two rallies in Ireland,
but never in any international, so that was their first trip away to experience what the WRC had to offer.
But two of the guys that was out there actually brought me to my first rally many, many years ago.
It was the Donegal International rally, so that would be my home rally.
Not sure what year it was.
I remember Gary Jennings was in the Evo 9 at the time.
I need the blue and white livery.
And I remember the Stoney stage, I can remember when that was at the midpoint in Nocala.
It's actually, I think I'm getting very geeky now, but I think it's midpoint radio 2, just up from that.
It's a herping race.
And yeah, so that's my first kind of like real memories from rallying,
and then I suppose maybe that had passed, and then I suppose when I was the age to start driving,
then 17 or 17 and a half, I think it got me a licence.
And then I started going to an odd rally because, you know, at home like if you're in the cars,
you'd be called a bit of a car head. That's our terminology on it.
So I had a white E36 M3.
So, you know, yeah, maybe a little bit of different in amongst going to the rally too.
But yeah, we're not been spectated at Donegal in 2012.
And yeah, I remember Gary Jennings again and another co-driver, Neil Doherty, had won it.
And that's when I probably really got an interest for rallying and very difficult to get started.
But I remember thinking at the time, Jesus, I would love to do this, you know,
whether it be actually had an ocean to drive back then, but I was a bit oblivious to the cost of driving also.
But yeah, probably 2012 when I properly first got into rallying, you know, as a spectator on this.
It's not part of my very quick sort of five questions here, but I want to touch on this now
because we're in the right point, I guess, of the conversation.
Because I'll be honest, I never really had that same dream, have the same experience.
I remember watching, actually, we're similar drivers to you.
My neck is the words that I bore people telling us, but it's the Jim Clark rally.
So that's this weekend for me, so that's my weekend sorted.
But I remember seeing all the Irish drivers come over and Andrew Nesbitt, these sorts of guys are all legends to me.
And you would sit and watch them and they would feel, I mean, these guys are mainly at that level, business people.
But they felt like superheroes.
How are these people doing this? And it was just the most incredible thing.
I never had the dream of doing it and it just felt so ridiculous that I just never even contemplated that it might be possible.
But how do you go about having that vision to try and get in the car and then making that happen?
Yeah, there's quite a few guys co-driving locally now down here, like where I'm from, South West and County Donegal.
And a little village called Brockless, don't blink or you'll miss it.
But there's two co-drivers local to me at the time and there was one or two drivers competing at the time also.
But no, to be honest with you, I didn't know how to get involved.
And I remember there was a fundraiser going on like that guy Barry McGill was involved in.
So he offered up a seat with himself for the media rally.
So it says to mum that I was going to get into the auction of the fundraiser that night and bid in it.
And for one reason or another, never went in.
So it worked out the next day, mum rang me at lunchtime and she says, we are chatting to dad today.
And I said, no.
And he says, well, she says he went in and he bought you the seats.
So I think it was maybe 250 or 280 or something.
So we'd contact with Barry.
We're not too far away from each other as to say, but we never met in person before.
And so just we got organized for that.
And that was my first introduction to rally.
And that's literally how I got my first seat was that was through like a charity auction, a fundraiser.
And that's crazy.
Yeah.
In a good way.
In a good way.
Yeah.
But if that didn't happen, I generally don't know if I'd ever got involved in it because it was, as I say, there wasn't too many co-drivers.
There wasn't too many you could approach, you know, one.
But yeah, for forgetting my actual first seat then for like, you know, stage rallying, closed road rallying.
It was just through a fella in Donegal town.
His name is Liam McIntyre.
Liam has like, I think maybe close to 200 rallies done.
Probably had a hundred rallies on at the time.
So very experienced.
And I have on a night out, I used to be asking them all the time, you know, you show me how to co-drive and you'll teach me, you know, what it is to be a co-driver.
And finally you give in.
And so like round us, you know, within an hour's driving, any direction of my house, there's been a harvest rally or a money stages rally.
So it's quite easy to get a roadbook and a set of pace notes from either Paterson's or Kelly and Duffy on the pace note.
And you go around, you just practice procedures, like learn how to use your roadbook and, you know, learn how to call notes and call them on time is the most important thing.
And then that's led to Liam and then ended up getting me my first seat with the guy from Michael and Mayo, who was also doing his first rally.
So the two of us were completely, completely green going into it.
Mayo stages rally in 2015.
And yeah, from then on it just kept chipping away by itself.
That's all very fascinating, actually.
And I'm sort of annoyed that I've gone down this route of asking questions because the one I've got on my list is kind of taking away from this.
But I feel like I should ask it and commit to my brief planning.
But that genuinely is, for anyone who's listening who is trying to get into this kind of stuff, everybody's story will be different.
But I think that is a lesson in, and I hate using the phrase networking because it feels far too business.
But it is like just speak to people, be approachable, be inquisitive and make things happen for yourself.
Nobody gives you a chance, do they?
It's always, and it sees little bits of fate and the ball rolls and then you end up being in the World Rally Championship looking at Shane.
I remember someone says to me before, he says, you're never going to get a seat sitting in the house.
You need to be out and about. You need to be seen.
And like that's nothing guaranteed.
Guarantees you a seat, sorry.
But like, you know, even as much as, you know, it's always very important to get on well with the mechanics that you're on.
Because someday, maybe some driver in that camp will be testing and the local co-driver, the normal co-driver is not there.
And that's where you can get your opportunity to maybe get, you know, some seat time and a bigger car and what you're used to.
Slowly, but surely that's how things kind of develop, you know.
Yeah. Yeah.
But it is a lesson that be nice to people.
Basically, it pays. It pays in the long run for sure.
Okay. My third of five questions here.
Greatest achievement outside of rallying.
So forget anything you've done in a rally car.
What are you most proud of outside of the sport?
This is a good question.
Right. I have an answer.
So in Ireland, we have our own sport, which is gay like football. You might be aware of it.
Yeah. Yeah.
Maybe need to send you a few videos on YouTube of it.
But yeah, many, many moons ago, when I was 15 or 16, my local club, Duncan Ely.
So the Irish, that is Ney Voulton.
We won the minor championship that year.
So we had like four league, county league and that's so we had four trophies that year.
And we actually won team of the year award as well that year.
So wow.
Many, many moons ago when I was a footballer.
See, it's always fascinating.
I think you find a lot of people in rallying have had a successful sporting past somewhere else.
Not everyone, but a lot of them seem to have some kind of talent.
And I guess that it kind of goes hand in hand, doesn't it?
We are elite sport. You're kind of good at something generally.
But John Armstrong maintains to me that he's a good goalkeeper, you know, that's his hidden talent.
I'm just going to say he's got the height, isn't he?
I guess he's tall for a rally driver.
So you can have that.
Can't say they've ever tried to shoot a ball past in those.
Maybe we'll arrange that one day.
We'll see.
I reckon he's good at Peter's Michael.
No further comment on that one.
Yeah, I'm trying to think, but no, I think that's probably it.
Because that's what I would have loved for back then was football and a plate soccer too.
So like between between both of them, that was that's what your life revolves around when you're in a teenager.
You know, what?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm sound quite old now and I'm talking about 2008.
Nah, honestly, it's I think it scares everybody that it's now 2026.
The second after 2020 is everything has gone in a time warp machine.
It's terrifying.
So we're all just old now.
I think that's a human race.
Next question.
Yeah, exactly.
I feel it.
I feel it.
I've got no hair left either, pretty much.
So I've got that problem.
But anyways, it's not a competition, of course.
Next question.
This one is slightly more controversial.
So I'm happy to keep it as tame as possible if you like.
But what one rule would you change if you were completely in charge of the WRC or rallying?
And I say rule, it could be a thing.
So something like bring rally Ireland back or whatever.
If you had power to do one thing to change the world championship, what would you do?
Oh, not a good question.
Yeah, definitely would like rally Ireland or the WRC to come to Ireland at some stage in the near future.
Regarding rules, don't really know.
Look, I'm not in that zone long enough to probably have likes or dislikes for rules.
No answer is an answer.
If you don't have, because I haven't given you time to think about it.
We'll leave that one TBA.
We'll check back into the year and see what you're saying.
The final one then on my short list of not so quick for questions is the dream rally team.
So if you could pick drivers, however many you like, the car and a team principle from any year of any point from any championship ever, what is your dream rally team?
And you can bring yourself in here if you like.
Yes.
Okay, so we're going with the car first.
We're going with Sally, the Ford Puma.
Yeah, that's a solid choice.
John and myself.
Number one driver.
We're going to go with Chris Meek and Paul Nagel in the second car.
How many have we in the team now?
So this is up to you.
You can either take it as you want to go dream and or you can be strategic and think, oh, I want two or three or four drivers.
It's up to you what you think makes the best team.
So leaving it deliberately open for you.
Two is enough if you want only two, but you can have more.
I'm trying to think here.
Who else?
My immediate question though is you mentioned John and yourself as number one driver and co-driver.
Does that give you priority in the championship?
Is it team orders or Chris and Paul?
Of course.
You should do that.
Yeah, we'll go with Colin and Nikki then.
That's strong.
Yeah, that is strong.
Okay, so the three of you in Ford Puma Rally ones and any team principal and it could be someone who hasn't done the job before in the past.
I've asked people this question before and I think a couple said Ari Vatman and not to swear you, but that was a very good answer.
I have two guys in mind.
I think Rich needs to be there and also Gunther.
Yeah.
Do you know what?
That's a good Emsport heritage there as well, actually, across the whole job.
So that's good.
That's Ari on brand of you as well.
Yeah, so, yeah.
Turn off the cough.
That's who would pick you.
The thing is with these scenarios, you always change your mind, don't you?
It's tomorrow.
I could ask you the same question and someone else will see you again.
Colin Clark is team principal.
You might be in for a world of trouble.
Wouldn't it be boring though, wouldn't it?
It'd be entertaining for the entire time.
That's for sure.
Yeah.
Well, do you know what Shane?
That brings us on to, I guess, this season really.
We'll get a bit more into how you've come here, but what I want to know is how does it feel now that you're five events into this career?
I know when you're in the middle of it, you don't really think about it like that.
You're just doing a rally season, aren't you?
And it's so intense that you're like on the hamster wheel and constantly concentrating on the next thing.
But do you ever allow yourself to really reflect and think, wow, I've got to this point?
And I guess even the start of two of you have made it's been super strong as well.
Yeah.
Obviously, going to Monte Carlo, that's like probably one of the toughest Monty's.
And some people say the last 10 or 15 years, but yeah, it was Monty's all about survival and just to get through.
And, you know, lucky enough, we were third overall on the Friday night.
I remember we were looking at the part of the regs and it's just on about the Friday night at the top three drivers and team principals to be there.
And ISIS will be able to go to the hotel.
ISIS before that.
And we were laughing afterwards.
He says, I can't go now.
He says, I have to do this media obligation.
But yeah.
And then the first three events, you'd like Monty, Sweden and Kenya, can I typically all unique in their own way?
And Monty was tough.
There's no doubt about it.
It's tough on the Ritual crews as well.
And obviously we're new to the WRC this year with the new Ritual crew team.
So you're trying to get all your procedures and your working systems in place.
And, you know, it's never fixed.
It's always evolving.
You're always looking for improvements across the whole board.
So we're all getting used to each other and the guys doing a great job.
And we went to Sweden and Sweden.
Sweden was a dream to do.
It was just the schedules a little bit more relaxed than Monty and my first time in snow.
And like, you know, I'm just thinking of a rule change.
You definitely would love to include another snow rally in the calendar.
Snow is just amazing to be honest, you know.
And then Kenya was, you know, I don't think you need to say much about Kenya.
It's just a full experience in itself from just arriving to start rallying.
It's bonkers out there at times, you know.
And then, yeah, but once you have two or three done, you kind of start to like,
well, for me, you know, you're able to enjoy them a bit more now.
And you just get used to, like for me, look this year, this is the first time I'm like,
this is essentially my job now.
So it's a wee bit of adjusting in that regard, you know.
Because I was working last year along competing.
So this year, I'm lucky in my position to be able to call this my job.
So you're just making adjustments as you go along.
But no, definitely loving life in the WRC.
And the more events you do, the more you get used to them.
And also most of every event this year that I'm going to is new to me.
Like you're going back to events for like the second time.
So Croatia is sort of an example when you've kind of been there before, okay.
This year, there's a little bit further up the road.
But yeah, you kind of feel as if you've been there before.
So you've kind of, next to that, it's confidence going there.
And you know the lay of the land and what the roads are like and whatnot.
So, yeah, like one thing's for sure, we're past Portugal now.
We're going to Japan in two days time.
It's time flies, you know, just one event after another.
And some events are back to back.
So yeah, the workload can be a little bit intense for everybody.
But no, you just get on with it and you know, you give it your best shot when you're out there.
Just to make this clear as well, and you've obviously referenced it there.
And I think I did earlier on in this podcast as well.
But these five events you've done, obviously your first five in rally one,
but they are your first five ever in the world championship.
It's quite incredible that I remember speaking to Owen Tracy would be just over a year ago.
It was when he was announced as Josh's co-driver for their first full season in the car last year.
And I think he'd done maybe two or three events in World Championship alongside John Coyne,
who obviously is the patron for the Motorsport Ireland rally academy.
And that at the time was like, whoa, this is crazy.
But you've gone and you've served that in this crazy stat.
And yeah, you obviously had been to World Championship rally before.
You'd worked as a route note crew for Josh, actually, you know, and incidentally.
But this is your first time actually competing in the WRC.
It was Monte Carlo in a rally one car.
It's just bonkers.
I know on paper it's like, geez, this can't be real.
But now I kind of have funny luck like that in a good way.
But hey, it's the same thing.
You know, you prepare the amount of work you're in.
You prepare the same level of preparation.
And then it's just obviously the cars go a little bit faster.
So you just have to adjust to the pace.
And as we've seen in Monte on the Sunday, like some of the cars running behind
the rally threes are actually quicker as the road was improving all the time,
which is, you know, just kind of hard to believe looking at it in paper.
But yeah, but no, I'm not complaining about the experience either.
The first rally in the WRC in a rally one.
Definitely not.
I bet you it.
But I guess it is weirdly, and I don't want to get bogged down in the future
because none of us really know exactly what 27 will look like.
But I know John's spoken about this.
It's quite nice to get this opportunity now, isn't it?
Because we know that next year's cars won't be quite the same as this,
probably in terms of performance.
So this is a, you get into experience that, which is really cool.
You take any chance you get.
But to get to being these cars is pretty special as well.
Yeah, it's for sure.
It's definitely, it's unreal to be part of the rally one area,
rally one area before it comes to a close.
And obviously the other thing is it's very important to get to all the kilometres
as much as you can this year for going into 2027.
Is it going to get slower?
Yeah, but sometimes the sport takes a dip before it comes back up.
We would have seen that in the past, like many, many years ago in rallying.
So, but the main thing is just that you're there and you're ready to go.
Because then the day, as long as everyone is in similar cars
and there's a race on, you know, a race is a race, regardless of what you're in.
Yeah, that's very true.
And that's another thing to get printed on a t-shirt.
It's got a nice little quote.
But has anything surprised you negatively or positively about the WRC?
I don't know what expectations or preconceptions you had before this year,
but having done five events, has anything sort of taken you by surprise
has all been kind of as you'd expected?
No, nothing stands out.
Nothing that I can think of offhand.
I think maybe when you're around events, like I was working for
Josh and James Fulton for a season at Rootnote and then Josh and Owen last year,
I think you start to kind of get used to the templates and the run-ins of the rally
and no different like to see in the competitors.
You're kind of used to being around them.
So that doesn't as much of an awe when you start your first rally in amongst them.
You know, when you have a nine-time world champion to the beside you,
you know, them things don't faze you as much as what they did at home.
You have to, obviously, you respect them so much more when you're in that kind of group
and you're competing against them and you see how just how they are,
what they do at everything, you know.
But maybe that's something that I didn't really,
I just didn't realize how good they actually are until you're in beside them.
You say that, but I think it's probably fair to say the last two events
maybe haven't gone quite the plan, but generally speaking,
the start of this season has been so positive for the two of you.
I think it was hard to know what to expect, certainly outwardly.
I don't know if you had many expectations or if you're willing to share it now,
but we all seen what you've done in ERC,
but quantifying that in a rally two car to the world challenging rally one was very difficult to know.
And I would say I've got a bit of reputation for being a big supporter of John's
and I think rightly so because I think for a lot of years he's been underrated maybe
and sort of got under the radar.
But it's been really nice to see what the two of you have done.
And I have to say as well, you've had, and I promise I'm not saying it just because you're here,
but you've done such a sterling job to just get in and do the job
because I think you're like the goalkeepers, aren't you, as the co-drivers?
You only really talked about if things go wrong.
And that hasn't happened, so that's massive credit to you as well.
I think the start of the season, you look like you belong in this company basically
is what I'm trying to say.
Yeah, so John Coyne, as you know, is the patron of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
and John gave us a massive opportunity last year to do a full campaign on the ERC
and the start of 2025 was rocky, just, you know, it was hard to get a bit of luck
and we had a lot of punctures, but sometimes you have to create your own luck, you know,
and do things to avoid certain situations.
So we worked hard in different situations and scenarios like that
and we came to Barham and that's just when the turn of luck came and the pace was there
and we were back, excuse me, we were behind Jan Capecchi that day
and, you know, we had the pace for him, but Jan was just taking that little bit of time
out of every stage and you kind of list your answers, you learn how to manage your lead.
So fast forward a couple of weeks around the care diggy on Wales then
and we take our first one.
So we kind of, you had to learn that day how to manage your lead
because the conditions had changed quite a bit on the Sunday
and our teammate, Romit and Sam, were chasing us down.
They were hot on our tails and, you know, you do it once.
It's unreal, it's your first one and went into Croatia then
and Croatia was like a mathematical possible day of one in the championship
and Andrea, Mabelini and Marcek had, you know, like DNF has such retired
and Mabelini went out and I think it was the first day and Marcek was,
he had to finish eighth or more behind and he was actually eighth on the Sunday
and we were saying we have a chance here, we had to go fastest on the power stage
and we did that but Marcek was really, really fast on the Sunday
and he won the championship and fully deserved him and Simone
but after that you're kind of wondering like what's the plan for 2026
and John Coyne has great belief in us and this program came together
so yeah, we've a lot to thank John and the Academy for it
because without them we definitely wouldn't be doing what we're doing this year
and that's a big privilege.
It certainly is, I have to say and I've said this a lot
and I've actually spoken to John on this very podcast.
I think the setup in Ireland is kind of like the envy of a lot of countries around the world
to have this opportunity, it's incredible isn't it, to be part of that generation
and this is a story with Rowling, it is sadly a financially dominated sport
so there's so many folk that maybe should have had a chance, maybe shouldn't have or whatever
but it's very clear that you two both have the talent, you've got the backing there as well
which is ideal and you're showing it
but I'm going to ask you, what did you expect at the start of the year
or did you genuinely not have any expectation and you just sort of like to ride and see what happened?
Yeah because the three of us had sat down together and we talked
and there was like a provisional plan put together and it was 12 events
but there's never no mention of Rally 1 or Rally 2
but naturally you never think you're going to get into Rally 1
you always have the aspiration to be in it you know
and so we were like right okay, you know, wonder what the two events are not doing
and as you know like everything is always provisional
and I think it's been organised until I suppose it's final as such
and then so we're going over to the sport day
and I, it was up to, we're doing a full championship then
so we were thinking it's a nice one you know because we knew it was 2027 coming
we'll have a full year done in the Rally 2 car and we'll be matched fit against the rest of the guys
Russell, the Grisons of the WRC
and I remember an email came in and it was something like
oh can you guys, here's the itinerary for when you arrive over
we're doing the head shot at such and a time can you please be in such and a room
and I said to John, I was like that's the kind of stuff that used to be done
when they were announcing like when Seb and Julian were being announced
and you know and stuff like that and I was thinking
maybe we're not going in the Rally 2, maybe it's the Rally 1
so John had travelled from his own place
in the UK Uptemps sport that morning and I had
I don't know where did I fly from was it Dublin but the coordinator
of the academy Sean McHugh was with me
so he travelled, no I met him and Josh and
Owen and the airport jumped in the car and went up the road
and all like the conversation could be anything about what was going on in M Sport that day
and afterwards they were like did you
genuinely not know so after the announcement it came
like Malcolm Wilson says
did you guys really not know like that this was happening
so it was probably everybody even our engineer Rory who it's nice that
Rory came up with us to Rally 1, Rory says I even knew before you guys
so but no I wouldn't change it now looking back it was
you'll only get that excitement once of being promoted to the
top level you know you can never relive that again
but I forget now what you asked me remember I was saying this earlier
Shane said to me before we started recording
I'll try and answer the question that you asked me he said he can go on
but I like that I say I don't want this to be an interview I want it to be a conversation
so that's good I don't mind but I'll reintroduce
my question as it were I guess once you've got this chance and it was
like what early December was it you were announced you had like five or six weeks
before you were in Monte Carlo so not a long time at all
I remember I saw you at a pre-season test didn't I in Monaco and you
looked very I don't want to seem nervous I don't think that's fair but I think you were just very focused
you were like let's get this first event out the way and then see
what happens but between yourselves you and John and I guess your close team around
you has the start of the season been above
your expectation below or around about what you did expect
um
yeah well I suppose nobody likes you know not finishing rallies but
our pace has been very good we've had like a
top three stage time and each rally we've did out of the six rallies
um Croatia was very
very strong pace as well um and it was nice to be able
to you know to showcase that pace because
realistically you shouldn't be able to do that your first year but obviously the Canaries was
a little bit difficult with Portugal but it's like this look you'll get
days like that you know what it was never going to be easy you know you're racing
the best cruise in the world so you take the good with the bad
and any of the bad days you have you need to take a lesson or learn from it and bring it
forward into the next but no we're both enjoying what we're doing
and every day you get to go out and one of them carries you have a new day to showcase what you
what you and your team can do so
um now we don't get too bogged down on it because um
there could be much worse things happening oh that's for sure
100% um how much though does that
10th of a second haunt you from Croatia a 10th of a second away from that stage
win I can't remember what stage it was it was on Friday wasn't it um
I know stage 16 platyque well that's the one that had quite a bit
of snow on it leading up to the event but I think we're 1.9
up on elven and scott and then once we came on to the wide
brother road maybe four or five k from the end we
were 1.9 down on them at the end of the stage but um
yeah I'm sure it'll come in time it's all about
timing and the sport so I'm sure it'll come in good time
is it a target or is it kind of silly to get too obsessed with things like that
oh no you have like we both have
have goals and targets to have this year yeah be silly if it was
saying it wasn't it's just one of the targets but it's not one of the high ones it's down
in the list so there's other things you need to achieve before you're you know
looking for that there but no it's definitely on the list
and you know what's coming there don't you what what
else what are the higher targets for the rest of 2026
I'm walking out the slows that wouldn't be fair
that's valid that's a question for the driver somebody else
yeah we'll point that question over to john yeah that's fine back that off
so john if you're listening that question's coming um but
in all seriousness actually we haven't talked about this yet um your relationship with john
obviously in the car it began at start of 25 didn't
obviously Owen who's now your teammate was john's co-driver in
2024 before he took the chance with with josh it's quite strange how all this
has worked out but how well did you know john before
you started working together last year and I guess how is your relationship
blossomed from there because it's that old saying is it that you kind of need to be
like an old married couple as driver and co-driver you spend that much time together
so you have to get on don't you it doesn't really work if you don't so it looks like
to see if you do get on but yeah how is that relationship formed and begun and
blossomed I guess yeah john lives about 40 minutes so
his home place sorry is about 40 minutes up the road for me but no I always knew
john as someone who was kind of doing like rallying international but never
never knew him and met him um and then
there was there was a fundraiser for
john and them for to go to the last round of the JWRC
a couple of years back and um that's probably the first
time I met him was up in Keshe and his name was up again Gary Jennings
place it was up in the Mayfly Inn so uh Andrew Nesbit was the
MC on the night and uh yes the first time I met him and
then I was out spectating at uh what
rather canaries in 2024
so that would have been I think john and own made of a two or three rallies
together at that stage so met him there again and
yeah little little did I know what would be happening the following year we're
paired together so um yeah it's been
things happened quick-looking like obviously john had a lot a lot of
experience and I didn't have any international experience really you have to
hit the ground running and uh you know the the time for learning really isn't
there but at any seat I've kind of really had in the past at home to
even now it's it's always been like that so it's it's nothing really new
to me you know in a nice way so I'm kind of used to them
scenarios but um no we work hard and we kind of
when you're in the rally car there's a time to be serious but also a fun but then
like I'd say that you know john's a really relaxed laid back person so
you know there'll be there'll be a good crack along the way
yeah I can see that with TV even now it's it's blossoming a bit and I think
it was obviously in Portugal when you ended up driving the car for a bit
those some good crack with the TV cameras around that scenario but talk to us
about that as well because I mean I probably wasn't really part of the
the dream list of what you're doing it's not your job but to drive that thing on the road
section even if it's still a road section must have been pretty cool even if
the circus acts unfortunate with with the power steering yeah
no it was like I don't know how difficult it was in the stage but it
was tough on the road section um you're holding the steering wheel
like 10 and 5 and then 2 and 7 just to make sure
it's like it's quite a heavy car too but no it's just that's all
part of the job because it's give him a wee break from driving and just reset again
because um you know as you seen
on the on the stage it's quite difficult to maneuver that car around with
no power steering and yeah just any of the tight corners then
he just says pull the handbrake so no I just there's no issue as I said
it was a little bit of multitasking call notes and and uh pulling the handbrake
how do you do that or is that maybe the
point is that you don't know you just do it if that makes sense because it was
and I remember the commentators picked up on it but they were completely right it was beautiful
to see that teamwork and it was like it was a point where you even shifted the gear down
for him it was just instinctive helping him out through the corners it was it was really
quite cool to see for pulling the handbrake it's uh I don't know
you had like sometimes you had to squeeze it for a second other times it's for
maybe two seconds but you just had to try and visualize how you would pull it if you were driving
that's the way it's worked in my head on approaching them all the time
um because you needed to try and get the car the car rotate as much as
you can but like there was another corner we're coming around and so for
some reason I thought the car was struggling to rotate around and I pulled
the handbrake and I could hear him he says he says F yeah
so when we went over the finish and I bust out laughing but
someone had sent it to me on rally tv you can hear Jenny and he's like
I wonder what they're laughing at there but I was he said you nearly put me
off the road
this is it isn't it you have obviously as you say that that that whole
as it's Friday afternoon obviously in Portugal isn't it that was all of that was making
the best of a bad situation in the I actually I think even John said
this himself quite did very well to not lose that much
time I can't remember what the damage was in the end but it could have been a lot worse
um and I guess that makes it maybe more frustrating what happened on the Saturday
was that you fought back into a decent place but this is the point isn't it
when anything goes wrong in rallying smile laugh stay positive keep
going because that mentality that I actually will reverse the
situation always yeah it could have been very easy
just to give up and you know retire but um as I say
that doesn't experience for both of us to do the four stages
with no power steering so um yeah you just wouldn't
want to be doing it again in a hurry but no
it was just unfortunate the way that Saturday unfolded but
um yeah sometimes that's just the way rally goes
it is yeah if it was easy we'd all be doing it I think is the
phrase um so yeah sadly we can't all
some of us still have the dream but looking ahead to the rest of
the year as you said it's Japan next week you're flying out there in a couple of days
that's going to be some experience as well final event on tarmac before
we've got seven on gravel it's a cliche question this but is there any
one out of these coming eight events that particularly stands out is one you're
looking forward to potentially Finland if I was to make a guess
um looking forward to going to Japan because I've been in Japan twice doing
route notes so I suppose quite familiar with the lay of the land
that um but it's nice to be returned now as a competitor for the last time in a
rally one car so that'll be that'll be special and the fans are amazing
out there they're so passionate and and yeah it's just it's
arguably one of the best countries in the world in my opinion and then
after that rally I would say yeah Finland
I don't think anyone can say no to Finland
um yeah it's just it's great to get a shot
at Finland and the rally one cars because as everyone knows the speed is so high
and yes just it's uh should be in a buzz for
three or four days in one of the M cars on the stages so yeah really
looking forward to it. Yeah I think one of those
things if you weren't a professional co-driver you want to do I guess one if you
to pick anywhere in the world to have a ride in a rally car you'd pick there
then you'd be absolutely terrified at the same time
but I guess for you you don't have time for that you just do your job don't you
um and it's it's quite this is the thing that I think people that don't do it in myself included
obviously just don't understand it's how you do it because we sit
and watch it and you maybe don't actually really take in what you're doing
and you probably don't either but to sit there while your driver is just going flat
chat everywhere a camera's like calling notes it's
I think almost an even more impressive skill than what the drivers do it's it's
something else that talent that you've got to do that job it's it's mental to me
I remember from sitting on before when some guys were testing close
to home and like when you have no pace notes you see everything that goes on you see
every little bit of maybe slide or understeer or something
everything's like in control but the driver just might be pushing
on a certain corner but at least when you've said a pace notes you don't notice as much
and uh remember someone said before that like
the co-driver always has to reach reach the end of the stage before the driver
which is quite a quite a good point you know so it means that he's
not behind on the notes but um now you get when you're in the
there is sections there's we have quite a bit of detail on the notes
but it works very well but like there is sections where
it is quite demanding to call notes and you know if you lid it in
phase you can get easily get left behind but um
no it's uh once you get your brain
calibrated to the speed of them you can kind of understand how quick you're going and
you know maybe sometimes the really flat out sections you need to be quite
a bit ahead but then obviously some of the slower rallies
it's uh it's very manageable to call but each rally
presents their own unique challenge like from a co-driver's point of view in my opinion
so you just uh yeah it's
just they're a pretty cool car to be on. Yeah
permission to get nerdy here actually before we wrap this up and sorry if we draw up a couple of
issues in this but I don't care um I want to ask and I'm lucky enough
to be in a position that I can uh talking about pace notes and
for me it's easier to understand what you two do because you speak English and my
French is marginal I don't speak any other language so
I struggle to really take in everybody else but am I right in saying that
you guys are using an angle system for corners I've seen the one that always sticks in my
head is right and left zero which is basically straight but a slight
kick is this correct like your base and corners have angles or is that too simplistic
so like yeah left and right zero for John is maybe
for someone else like slight left and slight right very little movement this year
and then six and five is starting to
go a little bit more angled like still flat out and then you come down to your
ones which is obviously tight and then we have right and left
78 and nine which is you're coming into like
you know herp and right and left so
no it's a good system like inning the system is a little bit
confusing at the start but once you do a runner two and a test
all of a sudden you just get you're able to understand the pace note
system quite well because like elven system is the opposite
one is I think is flat out for him while six for
us is flat out so just different pace note systems no right or wrong
way and obviously you have certain
shorter words that you use some guys for example you slow
we use slowing and stop or big stop so
it's whatever works for the driver. Yeah and that's the key point
isn't it because you obviously have to understand it because you're there calling it and you're
there writing it on recce but essentially it doesn't really matter what
you think so what your driver needs isn't it you just have to give
them the information that they need so it's yeah I guess
it's an interesting thing to learn isn't it
it's adapt to other drivers habits and obviously now you're sitting with John for
a year and a bit but before that you need to work with different drivers with different ways of doing things
so it is all just about adapting isn't it. Yeah like some drivers like
just quite a monotone voice and other drivers like for you to bring the intensity
up and down a little bit especially you know flat out sections is generally
calm as such and then when you come into areas where you need to get the
anchors on quick obviously you need to raise your voice or we use
the fingers at any time we have a slow on or a stop it's you just
kind of shake the finger I actually see quite a few doing that so it
obviously works for numerous drivers.
And final topic I wanted to touch on is just the
set up really yet. Obviously your teammates with
Josh and Owen but you're also I don't know if teammates is the right phrase but
you're all part of the same academy as Motorsport Ireland as well so I think
that's quite a unique set up in the world challenge but I guess it probably
works to your advantage you obviously don't know any different you haven't done another season
of this but it seems like you're all
you really are a team aren't you as opposed to like hiding things and
obviously you want to beat each other that's competition but it's
friendly off the stage it's a nice set up isn't it everyone it's like a big family almost is that fair?
Yeah it's great to be you know team
mates with Josh and Owen because they've been very accommodate and very helpful and it's been very
helpful to me since coming to the WRC because he knows himself the
thoughts you have and that's you know and the things you want to know about when you're
making your debut and debut season and you just want to have all the boxes
ticked look you know and that and you know there's
Owen said everything is kept open and we're both there to help each other and
to prove all the time because we're all trying to you know cement a future
in the WRC getting into 2027 so I got
two we all have our good days and our bad days and competition and
you know we're always there to support each other at the same time so
you know what to say and teamwork makes the dream work is that cliche?
There it is yeah that's a Euro in the swear jar but you can
have that that's fine I've dropped a couple of this as well
but it's true isn't it genuinely is true like you need
all the right people behind you to make this work and it's far more than just the two of you in the car
there's an army of folk and I think everybody can understand that
M Sport is in a more complicated and difficult situation without
anyone near the same budget as the rivals and so just
making the event is an effort for you guys isn't it sometimes so
yeah it's a proper team effort and it's great to see that you're bringing some
much needed positivity I think to a team with your stage times
Yeah I know it's a big team effort and like from Malcolm
and Sam and Recky support to coordinate and to our number one Chris
and our engineer Rory and the rest of our mechanics and the boys and gears and the workshop
it's everybody's a massive part to play in and everybody's
heavily involved so no it's that's one thing for sure it's definitely
a good team atmosphere Shane Byrne
thank you very much for your time today on Spin the Rally pod we did
hear the rain in the background so that proves that you are still in Ireland and I understand you've got some
exercise so you're going for a run which is not what I'm going to do with my evening I'm going to be honest as I
joke to you only one of us is a racing snake and it isn't me
Well I have umbrella here beside me so I might manage a run
in between the showers
You're ready for it but yeah thank you very much for your time
it's been great to learn more about you I'm sure the listeners feel the same and we keep our
fingers crossed that the rest of 2026 can go as well as it started
Yeah thank you Luke I appreciate it very much it's great to be on
Perfect and if you would like to listen to this podcast
add free why not join club Dirt Fisher Day
where you will unlock many more perks including bonus podcast features
and videos around the WRC you can even see more of Colin
Kirk pestering Shane on the road section so for that alone it's probably
worth seeing but on that note
One last note on that there when obviously we left the road in Portugal
went up to slow down the cars just okay
ward off because that's the next step we have to do but when I
maybe ten minutes had passed and I came back down to the car who did I see in the
bushes only Colin interviewing John and I remember
just laughing at myself thinking that's how good he is at his job like he was able
to figure out where we were was in that such a short time frame
and all I can see was the orange jacket in the bushes so
fair play Colin
yeah do you know what and I'm gonna say
well I don't want to credit as he feels weird me giving credit because it's part of the team
but we are quite good at that I think as Dirt Fisher
it is quite a slick operation whenever this happens you go up the track and you're like
right what's happened can we get there yes can we do it yes and they're away
but all you guys are great sports you always will accept interview and go with it
and that works and so it's nice to see there's respect on both ends
but yeah that's a nice comment I'm sure he'll appreciate that
because it's not always easy some of them are intense to get there but I think this one was
quite simple wasn't it given where it was in the stage but
yeah it's one of those things isn't it but yeah you have become a bit of a star
of the star interviews now Shane I have to say you're growing in
stature and I know John tries to get you to take the mic sometimes as well so
the media presence is increasing with every round
yeah I suppose it's a nice skill to have
you know it'll not do you any harm in a way if you're able to talk on camera or
microphone so yeah just like anything
the more you do it the better you get at it well you hope so
and on that note I'll go for my second attempt at outro
thank you very much for listening we'll be back next week
for some rally Japan preview content so make sure you don't miss it subscribe
to spin the rally pod on your favourite podcast platform and we will see you
very very soon thank you very much
About this episode
Rally Pod hosts welcome Shane Byrne as the newest Rally1 driver in the WRC, walking through his jump from European Rally Championship success into “the World Rally Championship in a Rally 1 car.” They also zoom in on what it’s like early on—first WRC rallies, Monte Carlo pressure, and the reality of tiny time gaps. Along the way, Byrne and the co-driver share how rally life starts to feel routine, plus the co-driving craft of pace notes and timing.
Original notes
If Jon Armstrong is new to the World Rally Championship, what about Shane Byrne? The Irish co-driver had not competed in any WRC events, at all, before he and Armstrong joined M-Sport's Rally1 lineup at the top of 2026. Shane joins Luke Barry to share his rallying story, how the season has gone so far, and what he hopes to achieve in the future.
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SPIN, The Rally Pod
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