Jon Armstrong made it four wins from four starts as he claimed victory in his class at Rally Leipaja in Latvia.

The Fermanagh man took the ERC3 lead on the first stage of the European Rally Championship event and was never headed, as he eased to victory with over two minutes to spare.

The rally, which is scheduled to be a part of the World Rally Championship in 2024, covered over 180 kilometres of loose gravel roads, and it presented a unique challenge on an opening day on contrasting weather conditions.

“It was quite a tricky event,” admitted Jon. “We had two passes of the longest stage of the event to kick it off and we were struggling a lot with the dust. On the first pass we were a bit careful where the dust was really bad not to miss a braking point or drop it into the ditch. That meant it wasn’t a brilliant first stage, but we got through it and because the dust was so bad they cancelled the second running of the stage.

“For the next stage it started to rain, and that got rid of the dust at least. We made some changes to the car after the first stage because we weren’t happy with the balance, and straight away we were really good in the wet on that stage.

“We had a top ten time and only one second per kilometre away from the Rally2 leader which was really nice. The rest of the day went pretty well also. We were in a good rhythm with no real dramas.”

Jon seemed to be sailing serenely to victory, but an error early on the second morning almost proved costly.

“We had a spin on the second stage on Sunday, stage eight” he revealed. “I went too early to the inside of the corner and caught the inside of the grass verge. That pulled in the front left and spun the rear around. We got away with it and there was no damage.

“After that it was case of getting through the second loop. We had to keep a good rhythm but not take any risks.

“Overall, it was a really good weekend and a good rally.”

The win continued Jon’s perfect record in 2023, adding to his successes in Portugal, Canary Isles and Poland.

It leaves him in a commanding position in his class ahead of the next round in Sweden in two weeks’ time.