Jon Armstrong and Cameron Fair established an unassailable ERC3 points advantage with victory on Rally di Roma Capitale, round six of the 2023 FIA European Rally Championship.

The convincing ERC3 victory was Armstrong’s fifth this season, giving him a 100%-win rate in the ERC3 category, he remains so far unbeaten with the Fiesta Rally3 Evo.

The season kicked off on Rally Fafe de Serras with Armstrong also claiming 20^th overall amongst a field of 44 Rally2 cars. The giant beating performances became a strong trend for the M-Sport Poland built Fiesta Rally3 throughout the season.

The ERC’s trip to the Canary Islands was marked by the debut of the Fiesta Rally3 Evo, featuring a raft of performance upgrades along with visually striking restyled bodywork. Victory on the fast and flowing Tarmac of Rally Islas Canarias was underpinned by another respectable top 20 finish inside a large field of more powerful Rally2 cars. The headline time in the Canaries came by way of an incredible 12^th overall time on the Power Stage, a stage where everybody is pushing hard in the pursuit if additional championship points.

Rally Poland was an important rally for M-Sport Poland with the introduction of a competitor Rally3 car marking a key moment for competition within the category. Armstrong and Fair stepped it up a gear for the team’s home event, stringing together top-twenty time after top-twenty time while gapping the Clio Rally3 by over one second per kilometre on all the stages they competed together on. Poland resulted in a hat trick of ERC3 victories for Armstrong who demonstrated his capabilities behind the wheel with his best effort landing him 14^thfastest overall.

Armstrong’s dominance continued on Rally Liepaja, outpacing his competitors by a high margin to deliver his fourth victory in a row and winning the rally by over two minutes. Armstrong skipped the Royal Rally of Scandinavia, stepping up to Rally2 machinery with William Creighton deputising to continue the Fiesta Rally3 Evo’s winning streak.

Rally di Roma Capitale offered the team its biggest challenge yet: taking on, 11-time Italian Rally Champion and Italian rally legend, Paolo Andreucci on home turf in a Clio Rally3. Adding to the daunting task ahead were the sweltering heat and forever changing Tarmac surfaces which didn’t faze Armstrong or the Fiesta Rally3 Evo one bit. A dominant display of driving talent and skill appropriately kicked off on a super special around the ancient colosseum as the ERC3 gladiators locked horns. Andreucci and his Clio Rally3 were no match as M-Sport Poland romped to victory. The team won every stage along the way, beating the Andreucci steered Clio Rally3 by an average of 1.2 seconds per kilometre after a completely fair fight, unhindered by punctures or technical problems. Armstrong and Fair delivered a standout performance and 13^th overall out of the ERC-registered competitors to record ERC overall points from a field of 50 ERC cars.

Maciej Woda, M-Sport Poland Director, said: “This is an outstanding achievement that we should all be proud of as a team, winning the championship with a 100% victory rate is very special. This championship victory is furthermore validated by the fact we had some serious competition in Rome with Andreucci and the Clio Rally3. The almost four-minute margin Jon won by speaks volumes for his talents and the level that the Fiesta Rally3 Evo is capable of competing at. It’s even more notable when you look at Jon and Cameron’s consistency throughout the season, they have been consistently inside the top 20 against much more advanced Rally2 cars. They have done an amazing job highlighting what the Fiesta Rally3 Evo is truly capable of, more often than not beating half of the Rally2 field, in a car that is a fraction of the price of a Rally2 car. I’d also like to extend a huge thanks and congratulations to all the M-Sport Poland team, for what they have delivered with the Fiesta Rally3 Evo. We now have a true bona fide competitor with Renault, it was of paramount importance to us to make sure the Fiesta Rally3 Evo update delivered the ultimate Rally3 car.”

Jon Armstrong, 2023 FIA ERC3 Drivers’ Champion, said: “I’m over the moon because it’s really nice to win a big championship and it’s been one of those seasons where I’ve won every event. I put in a lot of effort over the last couple of years but missed out on the Junior WRC title twice so it’s nice to get a title to my name. Thanks to M-Sport Poland for a fantastic team and car, I’ve really enjoyed driving it and to all my personal sponsors also. And thanks to Cameron and Andrew for being the co-drivers this year.

“Five out of five, it’s really good, and it’s good to see the second per kilometre against the Rally2 cars keeps getting closer and closer, that’s encouraging. It’s fantastic to get the title, and the team have done such a great job all season. Cameron hadn’t done an international rally before stepping up on Rally Islas Canarias, so it’s been a good opportunity for him to dip his toes in this scene and to be able to get a championship is really good for him as well. We were trying to take no big risks today and it’s worked out really well, I’m really pleased.”

Cameron Fair, 2023 FIA ERC3 Co-Drivers’ Champion, said: “I’m very happy, it’s something I didn’t think was possible at the start of the year as this was meant to be my year off from rallying to focus on other commitments. It’s been a pretty good journey with Jon and the four rallies we have done. Jon has been really good to work with, we had worked together before as a route note crew in Monte Carlo in 2022. We’re both pretty laid back, but we know what we want, so I think we work quite well together and it’s not the most stressed atmosphere. The Fiesta Rally3 Evo has been a fantastic car, I was very surprised by its performance, I have sat mostly in Rally2 cars before this year, and I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it actually is! It’s a fantastic package, it’s probably one of the best handling four wheel drive cars I’ve been in, the brakes are fantastic, the gearbox is really good now with the Evo upgrade. The engine has good power, it’s not crazy power but it is very useable with good drivability.”