John Armstrong: Knocks, eSports and McRae – The rise of the new underdog in the World Rally Championship

After the ups and downs of his journey, Armstrong’s dream of a World Rally Championship (WRC) will become a reality when he takes part in the famous Monte Carlo Rally.

His teammate is Josh McErlane in a team fully supported by the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, and he will be accompanied by Shane Byrne.

Armstrong admits it will be a “baptism of fire” on narrow, icy, high-speed mountain roads, but “you just have to keep swimming.”

“It’s heading into the unknown, but that’s what the rally is about,” he said.

“I look forward to working with Josh. While there will be a competitive nature between us, we will be able to support and help each other.”

Armstrong says staying calm will be key because “it will be easy to get caught up in the big lights of the World Rally Championship.”

When he thinks back 18 years ago, when he was doing drag races all over Northern Ireland, what would he tell his younger self?

“When you start, you do it because you love it and you want to try to do your best.

“The ambition was always there to try to get to the WRC, but as the years went by, I realized that it was very difficult to get the opportunities for everything to come together. This has been many years of hard work.”