“It’s something you’re always working towards for sure,” Armstrong smiled. “We [Shane Byrne, co-driver and I] had a nice little cry together on the way down here, I was so emotional before going into the stage so I just drove it so carefully.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of years’ rallying has gone into getting here. Big thanks to M-Sport, 1-2 shows the car’s great. I just can’t believe it, it’ll take a while to sink in.
“Why not [go for the title]?,” he added. “It’s all to play for in Croatia and it’s another slippy rally so anything’s possible.”
Armstrong’s win was also his first in the BRC, as he was registered for points in that championship too, with fourth-placed overall William Creighton rounding out that podium behind Jürgenson to edge perilously close to the national title. Former Rali Ceredigion winner Osian Pryce rounded out the overall top-five in his Hyundai.
As for the ERC title race, Mabellini was peerless on the powerstage to limit his points deficit to Marczyk, who was only third fastest on the final stage. That means Marczyk outscored Mabellini by four points, therefore carrying 15 points.
With dropped scores considered, Marczyk’s lead is just two over Mabellini.