Armstrong aims to maintain the status quo

JON Armstrong is taking the old saying ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ seriously this week as he aims to maintain the status quo in the lead-up to and during the Junior World Rally Championship title shoot-out in Spain.

The Kesh man, who will again have Phil Hall on the notes, currently sits second in the standings, three points behind leader, Finland’s Sami Pajari. However, when dropped scores come into play – each drvier drops their lowest scoring round – Armstrong is the series leader, remaining on 88 points after his retirement in Portugal when he was flying towards victory, while Pajari drops to 83 points.

Their nearest challengers in the chasing pack are Martin Sesks on 69 points, Lauri Joona on 44 and even Lisburn’s William Creighton on 37.

The reason that trio remain in contention is because Rally Espana is a double points scoring round, meaning the overall winner is guaranteed a minimum return of 50 points, with each individual stage win brining another point per success.

That means it really is anyone’s title, although most would prefer to be in either Armstrong or Pajari’s position going into Spain where the 26-year-old Ulsterman may just have the upperhand, having raced there several times before.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S ULSTER HERALD