DAVID EVANS

“Armstrong is well ahead in the virtual world”

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here’s a pause. I’m talking to the championship leader about his win in Sweden and what it means for the year ahead. There’s positivity and a real belief that this could be his year. He’s seen last year’s champion win once this season, but he beat him fair and square in the snow.

Not that Jon Armstrong saw much of that snow. He won Rally Sweden from his home in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, like the other Swedish winner – Thierry Neuville – it was a result which moved him to the top of the esports WRC table.

Armstrong, 23, is no stranger to gaming. He was introduced to Colin Mcrae Rally aged five and hasn’t looked back since. Now though, he’s beating the best in the world.

“I watched the [esports WRC] final last year and thought I’d have a go this year,” he said. “I was third in Monte, second in Germany and then I just won Sweden – it’s going pretty well.” Germany? “Yeah, the calendar’s a wee bit different in esports,” Armstrong added. “We’ve got 13 rounds, but they’re all done by the middle of the year – this year’s final will be at Rally Finland.”

Armstrong’s early pace caught the eye of Thrustmaster, makers of all things gaming.

He added: “They sent me an upgraded wheel and pedals and now I’m part of the team – we’re leading that championship as well. The top eight go through to the grand final in Finland, I’d love to be there and I’ll keep working on it.”

Armstrong is, of course, still better known for his success in the 2016 Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy, where victory in Poland and Spain were enough to land him a brace of Ford Fiesta R5 drives in last year’s WRC2.

“I’d never driven an R5 car before Germany last year,” said Armstrong. “I used the Richard Burns Rally game to get myself ready. That’s the game I prefer, the physics engine is probably still the best out there and even though it’s quite old now, other people are developing mods for the game – you can drive a 2017 World Rally Car on the events. I drove an R5 car and found lots of stages similar to the ones we knew were coming in Germany – it was really good preparation.

“It’s never going to be exactly like real life, the sensations and the feelings from the car, you don’t get those, but the intensity of competition and the driving [input] is needed just the same. When I’ve been doing these three rallies earlier this season, you still come off the stage keen to see what the times are like. I’m using it to keep the competitive focus. I want to keep going in the championship, but I’m pushing to do something in real life.”

Armstrong’s loving the virtual world, but he’s still got plenty to offer, real time. Germany last year was proof of that: he slipped off the road on day one, but recovered to set a fastest time on the final day – beating the cream of the world’s R5 drivers.

This year he’s chasing a deal to drive in the British Rally Championship. Could he become the first man ever to succeed in BRC and WRC simultaneously? Virtually impossible is nothing…