Motorsport: Struggle for Armstrong and Byrne at Royal Rally of Scandinavia

The pair ended the first leg in 12th. 

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: The Irish crew of Jon Armstrong/Shane Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2) pictured during the opening leg of the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia, round three of the Europoean Rally Championship. Picture: World / Red Bull Content Pool 

Luck continues to desert the Irish crew of Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne, who ended the first leg of BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia, the third round of the European Rally Championship, in 12th place.

Scandinavian aces, Norway's Eyvind Brynildsen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) and Sweden's Isak Riersen (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) are locked in a tense tussle with the former holding a 5.1s advantage. However, three others - Roope Kornhonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), Frank Larsen (VW Polo GTi R5) and Andrea Mabellini (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) are all within 22s of the lead heading into Saturday's final leg of eight stages.

For Armstrong it was another day of highs and lows, from an impressive stage win on the SS4 to come within 9.5s of rally leader Brynildsen, further progress was halted just 3.2km into SS5 when he was forced to stop and change a punctured front wheel. “We just went a bit too early in a corner over a crest and hit a bit of rock on the inside that was sticking out and I didn’t spot it on the recce.” He added, “These stages, you start going (cutting) more early everywhere because everyone is doing it and just end up seeing lines that weren’t there when you started so we got a puncture and stopped to change it. It’s frustrating."

Fellow Irish driver Philip Allen (who won the qualifying stage) was only 6.1s off top spot before his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 went off on a slippery tarmac section some 8.2km into the same stage.

To his credit, Armstrong made a good recovery on the afternoon's three stages and clawed back six places. Rain on the day's final stage made for a tricky situation. "It was hard to keep a rhythm, a bit too much sliding with the rain, let's see what tomorrow brings." 

Brynildsen moved into the lead after SS4 and while Mads Ostberg (Citroen C3 Rally2) occupied second from SS5, a puncture on the penultimate stage saw him slip to eighth - 40.1s off the lead.

In a post on Instagram, Kris Meeke (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) has postponed his entry for the Donegal International Rally out of respect for his co-driver Brian Hoy and the tragic events on last week's Jim Clark Rally. Hoy was co-driver for Garry Jennings during last Sunday's Cavan Rally when the pair were injured in a crash.

Eslewhere, the entry list for the Donegal International Rally (June 20/22) was announced on Friday evening. The top 10 is: 1. Callum Devine (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2); 3. Jon Armstrong (Ford Fiesta Rally2); 4. William Creighton (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2); 5. Matt Edwards (Hyundai i20 Rally2); 6. Josh Moffett (Citroen C3 Rally2); 7. Eddie Doherty (Skoda Fabia R5); 8. Meirion Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2), 9. Sam Moffett (Hyundai i20 Rally2); 10. Declan Boyle (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2).

BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia (Round 3: European Rally Championship) Positions after Leg 1: E. Brynildsen/J. Listerud (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) 47m. 59.1s; 2. I. Reiersen/S. Gustavsson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+5.1s; 3. R. Korhonen/A. Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+6.8s; 4. F. Larsen/L. Lundgreen (VW Polo GTi R5)+48m. 07.7s; 5. A. Mabellini/V. Lenzi (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+22.0s; 6. M. Marczyk/S. Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+32.4s; 7. M. Johansson/J. Gronvall (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+34.2s; 8. M. Ostberg/L. Karlsson (Citroen C3 Rally2)+40.1s; 9. S. Tempestini/S. Itu (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+50.4s; 10. S. Lefebvre/A. Malfoy (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m. 01.8s; 11. J. Matulka/D. Syty (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 32.6s; 12. J. Armstrong/S. Byrne (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+2m. 18.5s.