WRC Esports: LDLC Nexl beats Jon Armstrong to reclaim title

Nine finalists competed for the top prize of a Hyundai i20 in the service park of this year's Rally GB.

An eight-stage semi-final narrowed it down to a final four. They competed over three different stages from Rally GB, Rally Turkey and the Monte Carlo Rally.

Nexl, a 20-year-old Frenchman, made a steady start, registering the slowest time on the first stage while defending champion Armstrong received a nominal time after his simulator malfunctioned.

On the second stage, Nexl beat Armstrong by 3.4 seconds - though his advantage was set to be double that before a spin in the rocky last sector.

But that still put him into the lead heading into the title-deciding Monte stage, which started in storm conditions before becoming clear.

He made very few errors on the next stage and dominated it, leading from start to finish. Nexl was 16.4s faster than Armstrong and was able to reclaim his title.

Nexl didn't even make it to the top four last year, while series debutant Armstrong took his crown.

"I can't believe it," Nexl said. "I've put in so much effort to be here. It's pretty good revenge for last year."

Hungarian racer 'WED SUBEE203' won the first stage but struggled to replicate that strong pace on the final two stages and was forced to settle for third place.

'RC Noel' completed the top four, while Finn 'RC Mihalo' failed to make it to the final four despite topping the season-long qualification series.