Jon Armstrong is targeting a top three finish on this weekend’s Rally Estonia, as the Junior World Rally Championship reaches the penultimate round.

The Kesh driver holds a slender one point advantage at the top of the 2022 championship table with just rallies in Estonia and Greece remaining, and Jon is determined to remain in contention before travelling to the final event.

“If we can get a top three and get some stage win points then that would still be a pretty good result and anything else would be a bonus,” said Jon.

“It is about having a good week, and a good recce, and staying in the right frame of mind and try to pick up as many points as possible. Looking ahead to the final round in Greece, it is double points and it could be something of a lottery, but it means it is important to stay in a good championship position and in contention going into the final round.

"We are going to try to play the long game. If the confidence is there we will try to push and see where we end up. It is obviously challenging when you are going against other quick drivers, but it is up to us to continue to drive at that pace.”

A top three finish is a conservative approach for a driver that has consistently demonstrated rally winning pace throughout the season. He has had opportunities to win every round he has contested this season, and if he can avoid trouble in Estonia he is likely to be in contention for a second win of the season.

“Our pace has been good this season,” he admitted.

“The last couple of rallies have been disappointing because we have had good pace but for one reason or another we have not really had clean rallies and missed out on quite as few points, but we have to take the positives and move forward and make the most of the rest of the year. To still be leading the championship is really good. Other drivers have had issues too, but thanks to our pace and stage wins we are leading over Lauri Joona because of the pace we have been setting. We have to be positive and keep working hard so we are able to continue doing it.”

The high speed Estonian stages also seem to suit Jon, having claimed second place on the rally last year.

“Last year was pretty good,” he acknowledged. “I enjoyed the rally, and we had a good run in Sweden as well which is quite fast stages, so hopefully we can get a good rhythm again. The budget is quite tight so there is no pre-event testing, but the shakedown stage that they have in Estonia is pretty representative of the rally. It is a good way to bed yourself in.”

The drivers will tackle 24 stages on Estonia’s gravel roads, which features plenty of crests and jumps along with more technical sections on wide and narrow forest roads.

Junior WRC after Round 3 of 5:

1 ARMSTRONG/HOY - 67 points

2 Joona - 66 pts

3 Pajari - 56

4 Virves - 49

5 Creighton - 28