Kesh's Armstrong given ERC top tier drive for next round

Fermanagh’s Jon Armstrong will step up to the European Rally Championship’s top tier for round five, the Royal Rally of Scandinavia. ERC 3’s championship leader is set to drive a GN Motorsport MRF Tyres Dealer Team Ford Fiesta Rally2 alongside Swedish co-driver Julia Thulin.
Armstrong has won ERC 3’s first four events of 2023, helping M-Sport Poland showcase its Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo.
The two-time Junior WRC runner-up will compete on ERC’s Swedish round, partnering up with Thulin for the first time. Armstrong and Thulin competed against each other in last year’s Junior WRC with the Swede co-driving for eventual champion Robert Virves.
Thulin has already competed on two ERC events this year, Rally Serras de Fafe and Rally Poland in the GN Motorsport Fiesta.
The MRF Tyres Dealer Team entry is part of MRF Tyres’ strong representation in the 2023 European Rally Championship. MRF Tyres has won two events already this year scoring fastest stage times on every round. This season’s results build on the tyre manufacturer’s maiden ERC title last year.
It has been four years since Armstrong last competed in an R5 - finishing fourth on the Galway International Rally. His first R5 event came two rallies earlier, grabbing a stage win during his WRC 2 debut on Rally Germany.
The 28-year-old has since shown his world-beating pace in Rally4 and Rally3 cars, recording three Junior WRC wins and five Rally3 victories in ERC.
The Royal Rally of Scandinavia is based in Sweden’s Varmland region, an area previously used for WRC’s snow-based Rally Sweden. ERC’s summer-time event will be a fast, gravel rally with Armstrong taking confidence from his recent Rally3 success on Rally Poland and Liepaja Rally’s rapid loose-surface roads.
“MRF Tyres has been a great team for ERC’s promising drivers in recent years,” said Armstrong. “This is a great opportunity for me to work with them and I will be focused on doing the best job possible.
“I believe MRF Tyres is a brand capable of helping me progress in rallying. For now, the Royal Rally of Scandinavia is a one-off drive for me but I hope we can work towards future plans as well.
“I have enjoyed proving the pace of M-Sport Poland’s Rally3 Fiesta in ERC this year and this is a great chance to show what I can do in M-Sport’s Ford Fiesta Rally2.
“The ERC has been full of big names this year so I know it is going to be a big challenge, especially on these fast roads, but I cannot wait to be a part of the competition.”