Armstrong, who claimed his first European Championship rally victory in Wales last month, set the fastest times on the first three special stages. The Irishman leads the rally after Saturday morning’s loop with a commanding 22.5-second advantage over Estonian Škoda driver Robert Virves.
“It’s so easy to make a mistake here. I’m really pleased with my morning loop,” Armstrong commented.
“I hit a kerb and was absolutely sure I’d got a puncture,” Virves, on the other hand, remarked.
In third place sits Norwegian veteran Mads Østberg. The Citroën driver is already half a minute behind the leader. Just a few seconds behind Østberg are Swedish talent Mille Johansson, Italy’s Andrea Mabellini, and Estonia’s Romet Jürgenson.
Mabellini is fighting for the European Championship title. Currently leading the standings is Poland’s Miko Marczyk, who holds seventh place in the rally, but his weakest scoring round of the season will still be dropped from the final points tally. Mabellini, who retired in Hungary at the start of the season, already has his “real-time” points counted.
The gap between Marczyk and Mabellini is 15 points, but Marczyk will likely lose the points from his seventh-place finish in Sweden or from the season-ending Croatia Rally, meaning Mabellini is currently the strongest contender for the European title.
On Saturday afternoon, competitors will tackle three more special stages after the service break. The rally concludes on Sunday.
Standings after SS3/10 of the Croatia European Championship Rally:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Jon Armstrong | Ford | 35:41.4 |
| 2. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +22.5 |
| 3. | Mads Østberg | Citroen | +30.4 |
| 4. | Mille Johansson | Skoda | +33.1 |
| 5. | Andrea Mabellini | Skoda | +33.5 |
| 6. | Romet Jürgenson | Ford | +34.2 |
| 7. | Miko Marczyk | Skoda | +35.6 |
| 8. | Norbert Maior | Citroen | +48.8 |
