Jon Armstrong put in a giant killing performance to claim fourth overall at Rallye du Var in the South of France.

The Kesh driver went into the event thinking a top ten finish on the final round of the French Rally Championship would be a good target, but he surpassed his own expectations as he climbed from a seeding of 25th to finish fourth.

“To go to a big national rally abroad and get a good result like that is definitely a big achievement,” said Jon. “I said a top ten would have been really nice, and then I saw the entry list and we were 25th in the entry list and there was a lot of R5s and Rally2 and Alpines, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was really cool to get such a high place.”

After four stages on the opening day of the three day event Jon had sneaked into the top ten, and he had improved that to fifth by the end of the second day. With three stages remaining on the final day Armstrong made up another place after a trouble free run in the M-Sport Poland Ford Focus.

“We got into a good rhythm,” said Jon.

“We had a good pre-event test and a good recce, and on the rally it was a matter of trying to keep up a good rhythm and pace and a good flow. Each stage had its own character. Some of it was a bit like Catalunya, some of it was like Corsica, and then you had some bumpy narrow stages as well which suited us better with our car and that’s where we had the better stage times.

“It worked well. Our consistency was what paid off. We chipped away and put a bit of pressure on people around us. Some people around us had issues, or went off, or had punctures, so in the end to get fourth was a bit of a surprise.”

The rally was Armstrong’s first outing since his heavy crash on August’s Barum Czech Rallye that had forced him to spend a night in hospital, but he felt he was straight back into the groove from the start.

“It was back to business and the accident didn’t really factor into it,” he revealed. “When you are back driving you don’t really think about it.

“Sitting around, you start to think a bit too much and start wondering what you will be like when you get back at it, but it was good to put that behind me and get a nice result. Thanks to MSport Poland for giving me the opportunity to get back behind the wheel. I also want to thank C and M Motorsport Sales, Thrustmaster and Seacon UK for helping me get back out there.”

The rally brought Jon’s eventful 2023 season to an end, with an ERC3 Championship title and six class wins from eight starts demonstrating how successful his campaign has been. That success does not guarantee Jon anything for next season however, and he admits it will be tough for him to put together a deal that would allow him to commit to a full season at Rally2 in 2024.

“A full programme in a Rally2 car, whether that is in WRC or ERC, would probably be very hard at this point, but I will keep trying. If I can’t get a budget for a full season, then a Rally2 car for a few events might be better but we will see what happens.”