Jon Armstrong, Northern-Irish rally and esports driver, failed to claim the 2022 FIA JWRC title at the weekend, falling short by just 15 points.
Throughout the Acropolis Rally, Armstrong and his Irish co-driver Brian Hoy battled the notoriously rough Greek stages to come home second. But with rival Robert Virves winning the rally, the championship challenge was over.
The JWRC – or WRC3 Junior as it’s also known – is open to drivers under the age of 29. They are obliged to drive identical Ford Fiesta Rally4 cars prepared by the Polish division of the crack WRC team, M-Sport.
The disappointment of not claiming an inaugural World Rally title is compounded by the fact this is the second year in a row the EA Codemasters employee has finished second in the WRC’s Junior category.
Virves claimed four podiums across five events to seal another championship for Estonia, mimicking countryman Ott Tänak’s top-level win in 2019.
Although Armstrong claimed three podiums, including a win at the season-opening Rally Sweden, when drop scores were taken into account the gap at the top increased thanks to the 27-year-old’s brace of disappointing fourth-placed finishes on Rally Croatia and Rally Portugal.
As a consolation, Armstrong’s co-driver, Brian Hoy, secured the Junior Co-Drivers title thanks to Virves using two navigators during the five rallies of the 2022 championship.
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