WRC
Armstrong takes points and perspective from Rally Sweden
Jon Armstrong left Rally Sweden with his first FIA World Rally Championship points - and a clearer understanding of what life in Rally1 demands.
The Irishman brought his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 home eighth overall on the championship's second round, overcoming early mistakes and tricky conditions to complete just his second start at the top level.
“It’s been a strong weekend overall,” Armstrong said. “We’ve shown good flashes of speed whenever we’ve been pushing, and for only my second rally in Rally1 I think it’s been really positive.”
The rally could easily have unravelled on Thursday night. Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne overshot a junction on the opening stage and slid into a snowbank, shedding around 45 seconds before the event had properly begun. Punctures on Friday added further complication, but the 31-year-old avoided any additional drama and steadily rebuilt confidence.
“There’s definitely more pressure and more eyes on you,” Armstrong admitted. “On the first stage when we went into the snowbank, everyone’s watching and you feel stupid. It’s about finding the balance. When you’re careful, you feel like you’ve got more in hand. But you also don’t want to leave too much on the table.”
On stage, Armstrong used his team-mates as references. He finished ahead of fellow full-season driver Josh McErlean and traded times with Mārtiņš Sesks, offering reassurance that his pace is developing in the right direction.
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“In your first season at this level it’s hard to know exactly where you should be, but you can compare with your team-mate,” he said. “On some stages Martins has been quicker, which was expected. On others we’ve been faster. That’s been positive.”
Sharing the Rally1 field with former Junior WRC rivals such as Sesks and Sami Pajari has also provided context.
“It’s good that the pace we showed back then is still relevant at the top level,” Armstrong said. “But the level is extremely high. The top guys are on another level. At least we’ve got the finish here and some points on the board,” he added.
