Jon Armstrong has “well and truly” proved he belongs in the top level of the World Rally Championship after claiming a maiden outright stage win at Acropolis Rally Greece.
Last year’s European Rally Championship runner-up graduated to the WRC’s top tier this year with M-Sport and has turned heads on several occasions.
Armstrong outlined his class in Greece on Friday by holding third position having showcased impressive pace while making the most of a road position advantage on the tricky rough gravel stages.
The Northern Irishman has come close to claiming stage wins on a number of occasions earlier this season and missed out on a fastest time by 0.1s in asphalt in Croatia. However, on Friday afternoon, Armstrong broke through to win stage five by 0.6s from nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Ogier.
"I'm surprised, I wasn't expecting it to be honest," said Armstrong, who was co-driven by Shane Byrne. "We thought after the tarmac season that would be our best hope, but to get it on gravel is brilliant."
The stage win further cemented third position behind leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville and Ogier in what was arguably the performance of the day.
However, the former WRC esports champion’s elation turned to deflation as a double puncture seemingly provoked a turbo issue on his Ford Puma, which resulted in an unfortunate retirement on the next stage.
Reflecting on the display, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener believes his rookie Rally1 driver has proved himself in rallying's topflight.
“Well and truly [Jon has proved he belongs in the WRC]. You can’t really explain to them [young drivers] how hard of a sport it is until they experience it. He had a couple of really good rallies at the start of the year, then two or three really tough rallies where he wasn't anywhere, and he was getting frustrated and now straight back again back on the pace," Millener told Motorsport.com.
“Every rally is completely different. I kind of look at it like fatherhood. You can't judge until you've got a kid. Everyone says, it's just mental and you say it will be alright, and then when you have a kid it's mental. And I think it's the same with rally and you can't judge what the pace is like. This is the top. It shouldn't be easy.
“We've seen it before in a couple of rallies earlier this year, Croatia and things like that as well. So to do it [the stage win] on gravel is also very good to show both surfaces, and we have to keep remembering it’s only his first year in a Rally1 car. We know how hard it is to keep a rhythm at that level for any period of time. He did fantastic, but I'm not going to take anything away from Josh [McErlean] and from Martins [Sesks] as well.”
It was a hugely encouraging day for M-Sport, who at one point had three of its Ford Pumas inside the top six. After Armstrong’s early demise, Josh McErlean completed a smart drive, avoiding any punctures, to end the day in fourth overall, 7.2s ahead of team-mate Martins Sesks in fifth.
“It was a nice day to come out cleanly in fourth overnight. I think the biggest thing to take is the road position for tomorrow as well,” said McErlean. “The Pumas have shown good pace today. Obviously Jon got the stage win and it is a shame what happened in the next stage.
“One hundred percent [this is a great mental boost for me and the team] It's what the team really needed.”
Sesks, who lost time to a puncture in the morning, added: “I think the day overall was good. Of course, I think overall we as a team did a good job today. Jon had even the stage win. You see how brutal it can get. That's something we have experienced as well.
“For ourselves I think performance-wise it wasn't the best day. I think that puncture on the first stage today messed up our tyre strategy a bit. You can try to stay out of trouble, but in this rally the trouble finds you anyway.”
