It was a disappointing day for the Ford Puma Rally 1 crews in Round 1 of the World Rally Championship in Monte Carlo.
Derry’s Josh McErlean, who was alongside Eoin Treacy, and Enniskillen native Jon Armstrong, co-piloted by Bruckless’ Shane Byrne, were caught out by the treacherous icy conditions on Stage 16 that have dominated the mountain passes.
While all four crew members are okay, both cars sustained damage which meant they could take no further part in the rally.
Before their exit, Armstrong and Byrne had been going well and were in 6th position overall heading into today’s stages.
Swede Oliver Solberg came out on top in his GR Yaris Rally 1, while Elfyn Evans finished 2nd.
Multi-time WRC winner Sebastian Ogier ended in 3rd spot.
Takamoto Katsuta, who has Tyrone’s Aaron Johnston on the notes, was 7th.
It was a disappointing end to the rally for Jon Armstrong, Shane Byrne, Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy but they will take positivity from their first outing of the year.
The next rally in the WRC is in Sweden in 3 weeks’ time.
Shane Byrne is the first Donegal man to ever compete in all 14 stages of a World Rally Championship season.
