Motorsport: Jon Armstrong zoning in on World Rally Championship breakthrough

His team-mate Josh McErlean has prioritised replicating the pace he showed in Croatia

Thu, 23 Apr, 2026 - 11:44

Martin Walsh

There's a growing expectation that M-Sport Ford WRT driver Jon Armstrong is edging closer towards a significant result in a round of the World Rally Championship and this weekend's latest iteration of the series, Rally Islas Canarias, could well bear fruition in that respect.

His team-mate Josh McErlean has prioritised replicating the pace he showed in Croatia albeit without the misfortune that accompanied his efforts, he too will be eyeing up a season-best finish.

The iconic stages of Gran Canaria make for high-speeds although the threat of fog and damp conditions brings some uncertainty. Both will need a consistent performance that will be a test of character as much as talent. Now in his second season at the top tier of rallying, McErlean arrives in a good frame of mind.

"We took a lot of positives from Croatia, even if the result didn’t show it, our asphalt pace has definitely improved compared to this time last year and that gives us a lot of confidence coming into Canarias".

On his plan, he said: “The approach remains the same, I don’t think any of our issues this season have been down to our method and it’s fairly simple, keep building step by step.

We don’t need to do anything crazy, just focus on a clean rally, stay out of trouble and bring the car home. If we can do that, we know the result will come.

"We showed what we’re capable of when everything is working, so now it’s about putting a full weekend together. That’s the goal, no drama, no punctures, just a solid run and some good points for us and the team.”

Team principal Richard Millener offers a good perspective. “We have a good bank of knowledge from Croatia to draw on heading into Rally Islas Canarias. Jon has shown some very impressive pace on asphalt, and with our crews having experience of these stages, we're in a strong position to push for a solid result.

"Precision and consistency will be just as important here as they were in Croatia. We're looking forward to getting back out there."

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Croatia where we tried some things with the set-up, and we're looking forward to putting that into practice here - hopefully we can keep fighting with the Hyundai's and fight for a top-five result."

BELIEF

Coming within a 10th of a second of claiming his first WRC stage victory has given Armstrong belief and attaining that particular milestone can only increase confidence.

Meanwhile, championship leaders Japan's Takamoto Katsuta and his Fintona co-driver Aaron Johnston head a Toyota lock-out of the top four positions while their team mate Sebastien Ogier, on a partial WRC programme, returns for the event. Similarly for Hyundai, Dani Sordo returns for what is his home rally and his first WRC event since the Acropolis Rally in 2024. Thierry Neuville has the opportunity to erase the bitter disappointment of retiring whilst leading on the final stage in Croatia.

The top 10 for next week's Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes (Killarney), the fourth round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship is:

1. Callum Devine/Noel O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

2. Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2);

3. Eddie Doherty/Tom Murphy (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

4. David Kelly/Shane Buckley (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

5. Eamonn Kelly/Conor Mohan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2);

6. Michael Boyle/Declan Boyle (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

7. Declan Boyle/Patrick Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

8. Shane Quinn/Stephen Reynolds (Ford Fiesta Rally2);

9. Max McRae/Cameron Fair (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2);

10. Ryan Loughran/Dale McGettigan (Ford Fiesta Rally2).

County Down's BMW M Motorsport works driver Dan Harper and team-mates Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson won the LMGT3 category in the 6 Hours of Imola, the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship last Sunday.