Junior WRC driver Jon Armstrong in control on Ypres 14.08.2021: Jon Armstrong leads the Junior WRC field by over a minute on Ypres Rally Belgium with four stages remaining after completing seven competitive stages on Saturday.

Jon Armstrong leads the Junior WRC field by over a minute on Ypres Rally Belgium with four stages remaining after completing seven competitive stages on Saturday.
 


The opening stage of the day took place on SS10 due to SS9 being cancelled, seeing William Creighton add another Wolf Stage Win Point to his tally. The most notable moment of the stage was Martins Sesks going off into a ditch a few hundred metres from the finish line putting a heartbreakingly early end to his day. The Latvian was unable to recover his car, but the damage to his Fiesta Rally4 was minimal, meaning he will restart on Sunday ahead of WRC’s visit to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
 


Sami Pajari made good progress throughout the day, leapfrogging Lauri Jonna to third by the end of stage ten though he lacked enough pace for a stage win in the opening loop. After the midday service the Finn regrouped and found additional pace in a similar fashion to his form on Friday and was lining up Robert Virves in his sights. Pajari chipped away at the gap to Virves and found himself second after SS15, ending the day 15 seconds ahead of the Estonian while taking two stage wins on 14 and 16.
 


Virves ended the day in third following a subdued day in terms of pace, missing out on a Wolf Stage Win Point by a handful of seconds on each stage. Virves cannot get too complacent on Sunday though as Lauri Joona is 28 seconds behind in fourth.
 


William Creighton claimed more stage wins than anybody on Saturday, finding both form and confidence, establishing himself as a Junior WRC pace-setter with a total of four Wolf Stage Win Points so far. The Irishman was looking good for another stage win on the final stage of the day until hitting a curb and damaging his steering. Creighton is second in the Wolf Stage Win Points standings for Ypres Rally and is in with a chance at topping the standings.
 


Armstrong may have only extended his lead by ten seconds throughout Saturday but the winner of Croatia Rally did exactly what he wanted and needed to with his focus firmly on bringing his Fiesta Rally4 home in the lead.
 


Maciej Woda, FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, said: “It’s been another exciting day of action in Junior WRC today on Ypres with a variety of stage winners which just shows how hard these guys are pushing. Jon Armstrong did everything he needed to do to maintain his lead with a very well measured drive and was faultless today.



Sami Pajari seemed to find his rhythm too, and claimed a couple of Wolf Stage Win Points which means we have now had four different stage winners on Ypres. The man of today has to be William Creighton though, he won another three stages proving yesterday was no fluke and is now a well-established stage winner in the championship.”
 


Jon Armstrong, Junior WRC rally leader, said: “I am feeling really good with our performance, happy with our day to extend our lead slightly and manage it. We just need to keep it up now and have a good day tomorrow. I am thinking about the championship, and we need a strong result.”
 




- Seb Scott - photo M-Sport