Armstrong leads the rally after Saturday by nearly half a minute ahead of Estonian Škoda driver Robert Virves. If Armstrong manages to win in Croatia, he could still claim the European Championship title ahead of Poland’s Miko Marczyk.
“I haven’t thought too much about the championship. There’s still a long way to go. It might rain tomorrow, which would change things. I could have driven faster in the afternoon, but we had that puncture,” Armstrong said.
“Jonny has quite a big lead. However, I heard that tomorrow’s weather could be interesting. If it rains tomorrow, anything can happen,” Virves commented in turn.
If Armstrong wins the rally and the final Power Stage special stage, he will rise to 146 points. Marczyk currently also has 146 points, but his weakest result of the season will be dropped, which is currently his seventh place in Rally Hungary.
In Croatia, Marczyk is running sixth before the final day, which could still be enough for the title if he also scores points on the Power Stage. However, the Pole is already nearly one and a half minutes behind the leader.
“The day wasn’t good for me. The morning went average, but the afternoon didn’t go well. It’s easy to make a mistake, as we saw on the opening stage of the afternoon. We’re still in the game, but we must also be careful. Now it’s important to sleep well and prepare for tomorrow,” Marczyk said.
Italy’s Andrea Mabellini suffered a major setback on the opening stage of Saturday afternoon’s loop. Mabellini went off the road and was forced to retire. At the same time, the Škoda driver’s dream of the European title crumbled. Before the season-ending round in Croatia, Mabellini had been the strongest candidate for the championship.
Norwegian veteran Mads Østberg holds third place, 47.6 seconds behind the leader. For Østberg, the European Rally Championship round in Croatia marks the 300th rally start of his career.
In fourth place is Swedish prospect Mille Johansson, ahead of Romanian driver Norbert Maior and Marczyk.
Finland’s Lauri Joona sits in ninth place. The Sastamala-born driver is already more than two minutes behind the leader.
The European Rally Championship round in Croatia continues on Sunday with four more special stages.
Standings in Rally Croatia after SS6/10:
| POS. | Driver | Car | Time |
| 1. | Jon Armstrong | Ford | 1:11.42.6 |
| 2. | Robert Virves | Skoda | +27.3 |
| 3. | Mads Østberg | Citroen | +47.6 |
| 4. | Mille Johansson | Skoda | +50.4 |
| 5. | Norbert Maior | Citroen | +1:20.0 |
| 6. | Miko Marczyk | Skoda | +1:22.1 |
| 7. | Norbert Herczig | Skoda | +1:28.1 |
| 8. | Romet Jürgenson | Ford | +1:45.5 |
| 9. | Lauri Joona | Skoda | +2:07.0 |
