Knocks, eSports & McRae – the rise of the WRC’s new underdog

“I think people were wondering if I was ever going to come back, but I always wanted to give it a go and I never wanted to give up.”

Jon Armstrong’s road to the pinnacle of his sport has been the one less travelled.

As young driver whose talent was never in doubt, his rallying career seemed to come to a halt in 2017 when the finances in the sport became too much to progress.

At that point, Armstrong says he was “really struggling” to see what direction his career was heading.

So, he turned to the world of eSports and became the virtual World Rally Champion in 2018, which he says was “cool”.

But, importantly, it put him back on the map and was “a springboard into competing in real rallies” in his native Northern Ireland.

After a Covid-hit 2020, he returned in the Junior WRC in 2021 and 2022, and finished runner-up in both years.

He stepped up to Rally3 machinery in the European Rally Championship the following year.

2024 saw more opportunities increase in the European and British Championships, but by the end of 2025, when he won the final two ERC rounds to finish second in the standings, his form was becoming impossible to ignore.

Enter M-Sport and his new WRC adventure. Armstrong’s sustained success has been mirrored with backing from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, which has allowed him to build “a good bit of momentum”.

Armstrong had heard “little snippets” that he could get an opportunity in a Ford Puma Rally1, but no idea that a full 14-rally season, which will take him all around the world, was on the cards.

“You couldn’t have had a better Christmas present, it was just unbelievable,” the 31-year-old told BBC Sport NI ahead of his first event in Monte Carlo, which begins on Thursday.

“I’ve wanted to be able to drive at the highest level and the pinnacle of rallying, which is the WRC.

“There was lots of years going through the motions and setbacks, and then coming back again all the way from club man rallying back home and then up through the British Championship, European and now the World Championship.

“It’s been a long time coming.”

After the ups and downs in his journey, Armstrong’s WRC dream will finally become a reality when he takes on the iconic Monte Carlo Rally.

His team-mate is Josh McErlean in an all-Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy backed team, and he will be co-driven by Shane Byrne.

Armstrong admits it will be a “baptism of fire” on the narrow and icy, yet high speed mountain roads, but “you’ve just got to keep on swimming”.

“It’s going into the unknown, but that’s what rallying is about,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to working with Josh. While there will be a competitive nature between us, we’ll be able to support and help each other.”

Armstrong says staying calm will be key as it would be “easy to get overwhelmed with the big lights of the WRC”.

When he thinks back to 18 years ago, when he doing rally sprints around Northern Ireland, what would he tell his younger self?

“Whenever you get started, you’re doing it because you love it and you want to try and do the best that you can.

“The ambition was always there to try to get to the WRC but, as the years went on, you understand that it’s quite difficult to get the opportunities for everything to come together. This has been a lot of years of hard work”.

There are only nine full-time drivers at the top level of the WRC in 2026, and against the odds, Armstrong will be one of them.

“The chances are quite low but we’ve shown what we can do thanks to the support of M-Sport and Motorsport Ireland.

“You always have to look back and see how much effort that you’ve put in and now it’s all come to this.”

Now he is on the brink of making his debut, Armstrong says his focus is on showing solid progress throughout the year to demonstrate he belongs at the highest level.

“It’s difficult to say what’s actually feasible, but we will push as much as we can once we get comfortable to try and get as high up to the results as possible.

“Everyone wants to try to be on podiums or be winning rallies, but we also know that’s very hard to do at this level, especially in your first year.

“So we’ll just take it as it goes, but we want to get some good stage times and show our potential for then the following year.”

In the WRC drivers can selected their own race numbers and Armstrong will run the #95 on his Ford Puma in his debut season.

Firstly, he says the connection to Lightening McQueen in the Cars films which is “quite cool”.

But, more importantly, it’s a “little hat tip” to the legendary Colin McRae, who won his WRC title in 1995.

Armstrong’s partner is Hollie McRae, the daughter of the late driver, and he says “I think we chose right”.

“You can see what it means and what rallying means to the family,” he added.

“It definitely gives you a lot of motivation and support to try and do your best whenever you’re getting these opportunities. It’s really cool.”

Having worked his way back up the rallying ladder, Armstrong says he intends to enjoy the ride.

“Hopefully it’s not just a one year thing because I think naturally you need more than that to make the most of it.

“But at the same time, the WRC is a big circus and you have to just go in and enjoy it.

“There’s so many amazing rallies, countries and people that you meet. That’s why it’s the ultimate journey.”