FIA European Rally Championship front-runner Jon Armstrong will bolster the M-Sport Ford squad in the Probite British Rally Championship this weekend, as the 29-year-old Irishman joins the series in a Fiesta Rally2 at the JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion.
Having harvested his early career in the BRC Challenge back in 2012, Armstrong contested the full series the following season in a Ford Fiesta R2 finishing fourth in the Fiesta Sport Trophy. From there, his career flourished with a Drive DMACK Cup [Junior WRC pre-cursor] campaign in which he finished third.
Further seasons in the Junior WRC saw him almost clinch the title in 2021 and 2022, taking runner-up spots on both occasions. Assisting M-Sport Poland with the development of the Ford Fiesta Rally3, he would secure the ERC3 title in 2023, before stepping into Rally2 machinery to mount an assault on the hotly contested European Rally Championship.
Now, the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-supported driver will return to the very series which provided a springboard to his career, assisting the M-Sport team in their bid for the BRC Teams title at the three-day Welsh event.
It’s really nice to be back in the BRC again” says Armstrong.
“I’ve always looked fondly on the BRC throughout my career and back at home, we always kept an eye on what was happening with the championship. It was the place to go to highlight your skills and I`d always followed the likes of Garry Jennings, Alastair Fisher and of course Keith Cronin through the series. It was always somewhere I’d wanted to drive so it was great to be part of it in 2012 and 2013”.
The Fiesta R2 days are a distant memory now, as Armstrong now challenges for the European Rally Championship laurels in Rally2 machinery, complete with 2022 Junior BRC runner-up co-driver Eoin Treacy.
“It’s cool to come back to the BRC after all these years and this time in the top tier. I’ve been following the championship this year and the pace looks like it’s at a high standard, so I won’t be surprised if the BRC crews are right up there at the end of the rally. It will be nice to see what we can do against the locals and see where our pace is.”
“We do have to keep in mind that we have some responsibility to score well for M-Sport but our job this year is to showcase the Fiesta and ourselves. I haven’t been fully satisfied with our most recent rallies and there isn’t too much to gain from being cautious this weekend. We need to get the most speed from everything that we do, tick all the boxes, and go from there. It’s business as usual and hopefully, we can enjoy it at the same time.”
Armstrong is backed by MS-RT, Seacon UK, MI Rally Academy, C&M Motorsport Sales, Thrustmaster and Pirelli.
Images courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
