The 2025 FIA European Rally championship is set for a thrilling climax with title contender Jon Armstrong leading the Croatia Rally season finale.
But with Andrea Mabellini, second in the standings ahead of the Zagreb event, crashing out during a drama-filled Saturday, the championship fight has swung towards points leader Miko Marczyk.
Fresh from his maiden ERC win on JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion last month, Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne continued their impressive form to win five of the six challenging sealed-surface stages to lead WRC2 event winner Robert Virves by 27.3sec.
Armstrong headed into the final round facing an outside shot at the title, sitting 20 points behind championship leader Marczyk. But the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver’s performance has left the Irishman firmly in title fight heading into Sunday’s deciding four stages.
However, Marczyk remains the favourite to lift the title by ending Saturday in sixth place after mabellini, who started the event two points behind, crashed out on SS4.
Armstrong, starting fifth on the road, set a blistering pace across the morning’s three stages to complete a clean sweep of wins and put his Pirelli-shod Ford Fiesta Rally2 into a 22.5sec lead ahead of Virves’ Hankook-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2.
Virves slashed Armstrong’s advantage in SS4 to 12.7sec after a front-left tire deflation slowed the leader. But Armstrong responded by winning SS5 and SS6 to restore and extend his lead to 27.3sec ahead of Sunday’s final day, which is likely to be affected by rain.
“I have not really been thinking about it [the title fight] too much today, but there is still a long way to go and tomorrow the rain is going to come. I had that in mind this afternoon,” saeid Armstrong.
Mads Østberg, making his 300th rally start, drove his michelin-fitted Citroën C3 Rally2 to the final podium position, 47.6sec off top spot, after a troubled SS6 for Armstrong’s M-Sport team-mate Romet Jürgenson.
Jürgenson, who finished second in Wales last month, delivered strong pace throughout, with the highlight being a fastest time through SS4 that lifted the Estonian FIA Rally Star driver to third. Although hopes of a podium finish were dented when his Fiesta suffered a front-left tyre deflation on the final stage of the day, dropping him to eighth 1min 45.sec adrift.