Junior WRC
Armstrong second on rapid Rally Estonia
19 July 2021
Jon Armstrong continued his fast return to rally driving this year by claiming second in Junior WRC’s third round - Rally Estonia. Navigated by Phil Hall, the English-based crew finished 24 seconds behind winner Sami Pajari.
Another 2021 podium
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Exceeding expectations
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“We are really happy to finish second on Rally Estonia,” explained Armstrong. “Pre-event we were thinking third would be a great result. Just because of the high-speed nature of the roads and the event in general was a lot more like Finland than what I was expecting."
Fighting the locals
It didn't take Armstrong long to get up to top speed in Estonia. The 26-year-old topped the timing sheets twice on Friday and finished the day behind Finnish leader Pajari. Car handling challenges cost time on Saturday and dropped Armstrong into a big battle for second.
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Big Sunday sends
“It was cool waking up on Sunday knowing we were going on a big attack," described Armstrong. He regained second after going fastest on Sunday’s opener and solidified the position with another stage win on Neeruti's second pass.
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The performance was recognised by championship manager Maciej Woda: “It’s very rare for a British driver to out-perform Scandinavian and Baltic drivers in their own territory which Jon has done. Like Sami, he has demonstrated fast times on every round this season making the championship very exciting.”
Words from the boss
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"It is definitely an important result for the championship," said Armstrong. "We just need to get as many points as we can. We had five stage-winning points too which is good. Hopefully now we can get more good results in the future."
Points mean prizes
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Rally Estonia results
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1. Pajari / Salminen 2. Armstrong / Hall 3. Sesks / Francis 4. Joona / Koponen 5. Badiu / Fetean 6. Creighton / Regan
3:19:03.2s +24.1s +56.4 +3:43.7 +4:42.3 +5:37.1
Junior WRC standings
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1. Pajari / Salminen 2. Sesks / Francis 3. Armstrong / Hall 4. Joona / Koponen 5. Koci / Tesinsky 6. Creighton / Regan
71 pts 67 56 40 34 28
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