Jon Armstrong claimed a maiden FIA European Rally Championship victory by winning JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion to boost his outside title hopes.
Armstrong, co-driven by Shane Byrne, produced an impressive drive across 12 challenging Welsh asphalt stages, including a wet final two tests, to take the victory from M-Sport team-mate Romet Jürgenson by 29.2sec. The victory M-Sport's first for in ERC since Adrien Fourmaux won Rally Islas Canarias in 2020.
"It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of years rallying and to get here is amazing," said an emotional Armstrong. "A big thanks to M-Sport and to have a 1-2 for them is amazing also, and it shows the car is great and everyone in the team. I just can't believe it, it will take a while to sink in."
Championship leader Miko Marczyk claimed the final place on the podium, while his nearest title rival Andrea Mabellini recovered from a two-minute penalty before the rally, to finish sixth.
It means a three-way tussle between Marczyk, Mabellini and Armstrong will decide the outcome of the ERC title race in Croatia next month. Marcyzk leads Mabellini by two points on dropped scores, with Armstrong 20 points adrift.
Marczyk kicked off the rally by taking the early lead after winning Friday night's super special on the streets of Aberystwyth. However, Marczyk's lead didn't last long as Armstrong overhauled the Michelin-shod Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 in SS2, to lead by 0.3sec.
Armstrong was fortunate not to lose too much time to a spin and minor contact with a gate in the tricky SS3, - Y Diafol 1 - which translates from Welsh to English as The Devil.
A thrilling victory battle unfolded as the Pirelli-equipped Armstrong came under pressure from FIA Rally Star driver Jürgenson, who starred across Saturday morning's stages. Jürgenson, boosted by a maiden ERC stage win in SS3, headed to midday service only 0.2sec behind Armstrong as the M-Sport duo pulled clear of the field.
Armstrong showed his class on Saturday afternoon, setting the fastest time in the second pass through Y Diafol to edge away from Jürgenson. The lead stood at 7.3sec heading into Sunday's final four stages.
A bold gamble not to take wet tyres on Sunday morning paid off for Armstrong, who won SS9 and SS10 under threatening skies. Heavy rain then arrived for SS11 - Nant y Moch 2 - where Armstrong delivered a stunning drive that was 14.5sec faster than anyone else, before sealing the win.
Jürgenson's eye-catching Rali Ceredigion debut ended with a deserved second.
"The feeling is really positive I must say. Coming here I must say I wasn't sure I could fight with the top three guys but we proved ourselves wrong," said Jürgenson.
Marczyk picked up valuable championship points in third but finished behind Mabellini, who bagged the maximum five bonus points by winning the Power Stage.
"Normally I would say that to have scored a fourth podium out of seven races [is good], but we have a really tight fight for the championship and I was hoping for something better in the Power Stage, My focus is now on Croatia," said Marczyk.
Title rival Mabellini produced a head turning fightback across Saturday to sit sixth, a position which he converted into points on Sunday.
"I think this is one of the worst experiences we have had, but we showed to everybody that we are really fast and can keep the concentration if these kind of things happen," said Mabellini.
Probite British Rally Championship leader William Creighton was the quickest of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 contingent to finish fourth ahead of two-time Rali Ceredigion winner Osain Pryce.
British driver Callum Black claimed seventh ahead of ERC3 winner Eamonn Kelly. Welshman Ioan Lloyd claimed his first ERC4 win by finishing ninth overall, while Meirion Evans completed the top 10 after surviving a high-speed crash in SS3. Martin Vlček claimed the Master ERC class.
Croatia Rally will host the final round of the ERC season from 3-5 October.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. J Armstrong / S Byrne IRE Ford Fiesta Mk II 1hr 34m 52.0s
2. R Jürgenson / S Oja EST Ford Fiesta Mk II +29.2s
3. M Marczyk / S Gospodarczyk POL Škoda Fabia RS +43.7s
4. W Creighton / L Regan IRE Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 +1m 15.2s
5. O Pryce / A Hayes GBR / IRE Hyundai i20 N Rally2 +2m 31.8s
6. A Mabellini / V Lenzi ITA Škoda Fabia RS +2m 59.5s ...
