Jon Armstrong ranks fifth after three stages in his World Rally Championship debut in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo – United News Network – UNN: M-Sport Ford driver Jon Armstrong finished in fifth place following the completion of three stages in his debut at the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally.
On the first day of the rally championship, Armstrong started in sixth place in the first stage, then set the fastest time on the icy and rainy second stage, which propelled him to third place overall.
Organizers made the decision to abruptly stop the third stage due to safety concerns resulting from thick fog. Armstrong, a driver for the Rally Road Racing Academy in Northern Ireland, was in the middle of the stage when it was stopped, and the Federal Committee granted him a notional time—which is given to drivers who do not complete a stage due to specific and tangible circumstances.
This resulted in his drop to fifth place overall, but it remained an outstanding first day in the elite tier of rallying for the Northern Irish driver.
The 31-year-old driver is one minute and 34.5 seconds behind rally leader Oliver Solberg, who achieved an incredible time in the second stage to make up for his defeat against his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans, the Welsh driver who was faster on the opening day.
Evans was among a number of drivers who expressed complaints about poor visibility before the stage was stopped.
“I couldn’t see anything, so stopping the stage was likely the right decision,” Armstrong said. He added: “I have a good start on the first day of Rally1 and the first day of Monte Carlo. I know I can drive the car, but it’s mostly the things surrounding that which concern me.”
Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier took third place after setting the best time in the final stage before it was halted.
In the same context, Josh McErlean from the Rally Road Racing Academy in Ireland suffered an early crash in the second stage after losing control of his car on the icy road, hitting a tree before landing in a ditch, while Sami Pajari from Finland suffered a similar fate after a wheel on his Toyota was damaged.
McErlean will resume his participation in the rally following the accident.
The championship will resume later with six stages on Friday, and the events will conclude with four stages each day thereafter, on Saturday and Sunday.
Monte Carlo Rally Standings (After Stage 3 of 17)
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Oliver Solberg (Sweden) – Toyota (Leader)
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Elfyn Evans (Great Britain) – Toyota (+44.7s)
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Sébastien Ogier (France) – Toyota (+1m 08.6s)
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Thierry Neuville (Belgium) – Hyundai (+1m 25.9s)
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Jon Armstrong (Ireland) – Ford (+1m 34.5s)
Retired – Josh McErlean (Ireland) – Ford
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