By 
WHEN you give everything you can and achieve what you set out to do you can only be satisfied with your efforts and that’s exactly how Jon Armstrong feels after a dominant performance at the concluding round of the European Rally Championship in Croatia.
The Kesh native went into the season finale with a slim, very slim chance of winning the ERC title outright. In order to achieve that dream, he needed to win the event and finish top of the Power Stage time sheets, while hoping his main rivals, Andrea Mabellini finished no higher than sixth and Miko Marczyk came home no better than seventh.
Armstrong, who had Shane Byrne on the notes. achieved the only part of the deal he had any control over by comprehensively winning the event after sealing victory on five of Saturday’s six stages and two more on Sunday, including that all-important Power Stage. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old, while Mabellini crashed out and retired after four stages of the event, the consistent Marczyk, who didn’t win a single event all season, came home third, nearly two minutes behind Armstrong, to take the title.
But rather than being disappointed at missing out on the overall crown by just six points, the M-Sport driver, who twice finished second in the Junior World Rally Championship, was delighted to have got himself into a position to challenge and he’s already eyeing up a title push next year.
“At the mid-point of the year we were completely out of the title race, so it just shows how strong we’ve been to get so close to winning it,” he said. “But for me it’s just important to win rallies and next year try to be a bit more consistent.
“I’m not too bothered [about what ifs], there’s no point dwelling on it. I missed out on the JWRC a couple of times, so I think that’s just the way things go for me. You get used to it! At least we’re vice-champion in a couple of things now and who knows, maybe we’ll get a little bit closer next year!
“I’m not too bothered about missing out [on the title]. Ok, it would have been nice but I’m really happy to be showing good pace, the Fiesta was working really well and M-Sport are really happy with the job done too.”
Having stuttered into the 2025 ERC season with a DNF in Spain, followed by back-to-back 10th placed finishes in Hungary and Sweden, Armstrong is pleased with the way he finished his latest campaign in the series.
The Fermanagh man came home second in the Czech Republic and then won the final two rounds in Wales and Croatia to finish second overall.
And he believes his performance at the weekend was aided by his maiden win in Wales a few weeks earlier, which took a a lot of pressure off his shoulders.
“It was a good weekend. It was good to get another win, especially so close to the first one and to go back-to-back!,” he beamed. “I think naturally a bit of pressure drops after you get your first one and you’re just a bit more relaxed.
“It was an outside chance [to win the ERC title] and it was going to be a difficult one to come to fruition but all you can do is try to do your part and it was nice to be in the position to be leading the rally by a good margin so we could focus on having a clean run through the power stage.
“It was a very strong event for us and we’re just happy to end the season with two wins and second place in Barum.
“It’s been a solid end to the year.”
