Jon Armstrong and Brian Hoy both finished inside the top 20 on the first round of the European Rally Championship in Portugal.

The pair, who contested the Junior World Rally Championship as a partnership, were in separate cars for the Rally Serras de Fafe Rally but finished alongside each other on the final leaderboard with Hoy navigating Josh McErlean to 19th, just 12 seconds ahead of Armstrong and co-driver Andrew Browne.

Caught the eye

Armstrong was up against a limited field of similar Rally3 cars, and although he came out on top in his class it was his performance against the more powerful Rally2 competitors that caught the eye. The Kesh driver admitted that he was happy with his performance, as he produced another giant killing display.

“Overall, it was a positive weekend,” he said. “We had some really good times against Rally 2 cars. We had a good recce and a good rally, and were driving hard and enjoying being behind the wheel and trying to push as hard as we could without taking any really big risks. I was happy overall.”

Brian Hoy made a solid to the event co-driving for Josh McErlean, and the pair had climbed to 16th overall after stage six in their Rally2 Hyundai i20, before they hit trouble on stage seven. The Hyundai picked up a puncture in the heavily rutted gravel roads and they were forced to stop on the stage and change the wheel, sending them plummeting down the leader board to 29th place. They mounted an impressive recovery drive on day two however, climbing ten places before the finish.

The rally produced challenging conditions for all the crews, as rain and fog on day one played havoc with the event.

Half of the first day’s stages were cancelled due to the poor weather, but the one stage called off due to an accident proved detrimental to Armstrong’s finishing position.

Bad nominal time

“There was a crash and we didn’t get starting the stage,” Jon recalled. “Then we were given a bad nominal time that was 30 seconds slower than the other Rally2 cars around us. If we had got the same nominal time as the cars that were around us in the overall standings, which I believe would have been the right thing, then we would have been slightly further up and would have finished ahead of Brian and Josh, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Improved conditions on day two saw Jon move up from 25th to 20th place in the final standings, after a relatively trouble free run.

“We had no big issues,” he acknowledged. “We had a flat tyre on the penultimate stage, seven or eight corners before the finish, and that dropped us a few seconds. Other than that, it was good. The crowds are very passionate about their rallying, and the roads are very good as well, so it was a good event to do. Overall it was a really nice rally to be part of.”

Jon was encouraged by his pace, and admits he is yearning for an opportunity to prove his speed in a Rally2 car at some stage during the season.

“I would love to do a Rally2 event because I know now that I would definitely be there or thereabouts in the ERC for sure,” he said. “We will see what sort of a budget we can gather up because I know I can do it. It’s just about getting an opportunity.”

While Jon’s future calendar remains uncertain, he is hopeful that if a Rally2 drive does not materialise he will still be able to secure further events in the Fiesta Rally3 car.

“Renault are coming with their car so there will be a bit more competition and a manufacturer battle,” he said. “It would be interesting to be involved in that. There is nothing confirmed yet though. We will have to see what sort of a budget is required.”

 

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