Jon Armstrong retired from the podium battle on Croatia Rally after going off the road and into a concrete kerb – but M-Sport team principal Rich Millener is elated with the rookie’s performance regardless.
The incumbent winner of Croatia Rally was third after the opening stage, was 0.1s off the fastest time on stage three and had been fastest at the midway point of stage two until a puncture set him back half a minute.
He then slid wide on stage four, clattering a concrete kerb and damaging the right side of his Ford Puma.
Despite the negative outcome, Millener had nothing but praise for the Rally1 rookie.
“What an incredible performance over those first three stages,” said Millener. “To lose out on a stage win by a tenth was frustrating but it will come in time.”
Millener put the stage four accident down to misfortune and believes there was no hint of Armstrong pushing harder than he should have.
“He was caught out on some dust on the left hander and that’s ultimately what led the car to go across the road and hit the kerb,” said Millener. “Sadly there was a bit too much damage to continue but up until that point [it] was really amazing to see.
“He didn’t look like he was overdriving, didn’t look stressed, looked really happy and confident and it’s super positive to see that the car’s capable of fighting against all the other cars.”
With Armstrong coming close to stage wins on the second and third stages, and possessing some familiarity with two of Saturday’s stages from his time in Junior WRC – Pećurkovo Brdo-Mrežnički Novaki and Platak – Millener has now targeted a scratch time before the end of the rally.
Armstrong has been to Croatia three times before – and though he won the ERC edition last year, it's his Junior WRC outings that have direct carry over of previous stage experience
“It’s a shame he’s not going to get the result this weekend,” said Millener. “But the goal now for him is to get it repaired, bounce back, and see if we can get that stage win over the rest of the weekend, which I know he’ll be determined to do.”
McErlean in the other Ford Puma is fifth overall after six stages but is currently being caught by Adrien Fourmaux, who’d been slowed by a puncture on stage two.
