Fermanagh native Jon Armstrong fully prepared for Rally Poland despite route revamp
Kesh native Jon Armstrong knows what to expect from the Orlen Oil 81st Rally Poland despite a revamped route. A brace of tenth place finishes in Hungary and Scandinavia is scant reward for his efforts thus far where he has taken a strong share of the Power Stage points on both rallies.
On what will be his fourth appearance in the event — with class wins on previous outings — Armstrong and his Donegal co-drive Shane Byrne will be aiming to maximise the former's experience and knowledge.
'It gets very rutted on the second pass of the stages because the surface is quite sandy and gets dug up with every car that passes."
Onboard his Pirelli shod M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2, he added, 'You have to trust the car in the ruts and really commit to them — there can be surprises waiting in them. Then you have the tricky sections through villages on tarmac with a gravel set-up."
Not that he will have time to admire the scenic surroundings during an event that has ERC status for the 55th time, he concluded, "The Polish lake district is a lovely part of the world.' It's the third and final gravel event on the ERC season.
There are some six ERC champions in the line-up with Martins Sesks and local hero Miko Marczyk in a pair of Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars following top seed Roope Korhonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) off the start ramp.
ERC leader Korhonen holds a three points advantage over Marczyk, who won this event in 2022. Others like Mads Ostberg (Citroen C3 Rally2) and Andrea Mabellini (Skoda Fabia Rally2) will be aiming to close the deficit. Armstrong is seeded at eight.
Meanwhile, there is a strong Irish contingent in the Junior ERC category including reigning Billy Coleman Young Driver of the Year award winner Cavan's Craig Rahill, who was fourth in the category in Spain earlier in the season.
Speaking yesterday to the Irish Examiner after he concluded his recce of the first three stages, he said, "I'm looking forward to it. I don't have that much experience on gravel in comparison to tarmac so want to build that up, it's so important from that perspective."
Cavan's Craig Rahill will compete in the Junior ERC category. File picture: Martin Walsh
Rahill will campaign a Hankook shod Peugeot 208 Rally4 along with fellow Irish drivers Aoife Raftery and Keelan Grogan.
Elsewhere, the line-up also features Tipperary's Casey J Coleman (Ford Fiesta Rally3) and Louth's Brendan Cumiskey (Ford Fiesta R4).
The action begins this (Friday) evening with the head-to-head 2.5km Mikołajki Arena super special with seven stages tomorrow and six on Sunday culminating with the Power Stage.
Sadly, Junior ERC driver Italian Matteo Doretto, 21, lost his life during a private test on Wednesday morning as he prepared for the event.
His co-driver Samuele Pellegrino was taken to hospital for precautionary checks but was uninjured. Doretto, who won the Italian Junior series last year, was in his maiden season in the ERC where he was a popular member of the ERC family, The FIA European Rally Championship family have extended its deepest sympathies.
Former Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year, Charlie Eastwood competes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that starts tomorrow afternoon.
The Belfast TF Sport driver accompanies Angolan-Portuguese driver Rui Andrade and Belgian Tom Van Rompuy in the #81 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. Eastwood was a class winner with Aston Martin Racing in 2020.
The addition on Monday last of double European Rally champion, Hayden Paddon to the entry for next week's Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally is generating great interest.
The New Zealander replaces Welsh ace Matt Edwards, who announced on Sunday that he had decided to withdraw from the three day rally, citing the recent tragedy on the Jim Clark Rally and accidents in rallies in Cavan and Barbados as the reason.
In line with the rules, Paddon will now steer the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 with Cork native David Moynihan calling the pacenotes.
Along with Kris Meeke, who withdrew after the Jim Clark and Cavan events, Eddie Doherty, Sam Moffett, Jason Mitchell and Tommy Doyle have withdrawn their entries.
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