FERMANAGH driver Jon Armstrong has been confirmed as one of the M-Sport drivers for next year’s World Rally Championship.
The Kesh man, who is a two-time Junior WRC runner-up, will represent M-Sport in the campaign, with Shane Byrne as his co-driver.
It comes after Armstrong was named the driver of the year on FIAERC.com after five members of the FIA European Rally Championship broadcast team offered their opinions during the annual ERC Expert View.
Analysist Eyvind Brynildsen, presenters Hayley Edmonds and Julian Porter, commentator Becs Williams and stage-end reporter Peter MacKay were asked to select their Driver of the Year for 2025 with Edmonds, Porter and Williams all selecting the Kesh native, who finished second in the overall Championship.
After a somewhat difficult start to 2025, Armstrong showed his mettle and his driving skills throughout the second half of the ERC season when he picked up two podium finishes before winning the final two events of the year in Wales and Croatia to bring the title fight right down to the wire.
And it’s on the back of those efforts that three of the five experts picked him as their driver of the year, while Brynildsen went for champion, Miko Marczyk, who didn’t win a rally in 2025 but did take the title, and MacKay selected Calle Carlberg, who won the junior crown.
The World Rally Championship is scheduled to kick-off at Rally Monte Carlo on January 22 2026.
