Brian Hoy collected his Junior World Rally Champion co-driver trophy at a star-studded motorsports award ceremony in Bologna last weekend.

The Enniskillen navigator clinched the top spot in the JWRC championship when he guided Jon Armstrong to second overall on the final round of the series in Greece, and he received his award in the company of the biggest stars in rallying and Formula One at the FIA prizegiving.

‘A great experience’

“It was a great experience to be in the same room as people like Charles Leclerc, Verstappen, Sebastien Loeb, Christian Horner. All those boys were there,” said Brian.

“They were very friendly, and happy to stop and chat. It was some experience.”

Brian earned his trophy with consistent performances alongside Armstrong, starting with a victory on Rally Sweden and picking up points in Croatia, Portugal and Estonia before the final round in Greece.

While Armstrong narrowly missed out on the top prize in the driver’s championship, a change of co-driver for the eventual driver’s champion opened the door for Hoy, and his points tally earned him a comfortable victory in the navigator’s table.

Brian struggled to pick out just one high point of a memorable campaign, but admits the debut win on the snowy Swedish roads was up there.

“Winning in Sweden was probably the highlight,” he acknowledged.

“Jon and I had hardly spoken before that, and then we got into the car and were four seconds quicker than anyone in shakedown.

“We knew that didn’t mean anything, but we were in the mix. The first stage we knew wasn’t great and we were only seven seconds down, and Jon was kind of celebrating.

“Sweden was great, but even getting to see places like the Azores and the Canary Islands was class as well. It was an amazing experience.”

At Christmas last year Brian was preparing for a season navigating for Callum Duffy in the Irish Tarmac Championship, but a phone call early in the New Year turned everything on its head.

“This time last year I hadn’t a clue about what was going to happen,” he recalled. “It was January 11 when Jon first rang me, and it has been some year since then. The number of places we have seen!

“It wasn’t all handy, and there was plenty of hard work, but if I could turn the clock back I would do it all again. Our effort levels never let us down.”

Success

Having tasted success in the 2022 season, Brian is hoping they can team up again in 2023, but he admits that next season’s plans remain uncertain.

“Getting the budget together is very hard,” he admitted.

“There is nothing at the minute, but we won’t leave it at that. Hopefully we will get back out again and do something.”

 

Stay better connected this festive season. Receive a £10 Enniskillen gift card with an Impartial Reporter subscription. Click here to subscribe