MID Wales ace Tom Cave has described his delight after he and co-driver James Morgan got their MSA British Rally Championship title challenge off to a great start on the Mid Wales Stages.

They finished the first of this season’s seven rounds in an impressive third place, behind fellow Welshmen Elfyn Evans and Craig Parry, and the Scandinavian pairing of Fredrik Ahlin and Morton Erik Abrahamsen.

“We were aiming to finish on the podium this weekend and that’s exactly what we did,” said Cave, from Aberdyfi.

“After the accident a couple of weeks ago, to claim third place in the first round of the new BRC and with so many top competitors taking part, is a great feeling.

“As the rally went on, things really started to gel between James and I and this added to our pace.

“The Fiesta ran faultlessly and I must thank Spencer Sport and M-Sport for getting it fixed in such a short space of time. It has been a fantastic start to the season.”

Driving the Spencer Sport prepared, Trefeddian Hotel supported Ford Fiesta R5, Cave overcame the difficult conditions to claim his well-deserved podium position, in an event that hearalded the start of a new era for the British Rally Championship.

Following his accident on the Red Kite Stages two weeks ago, when the Fiesta was extensively damaged, the Spencer Sport and M-Sport teams worked tirelessly to rebuild the car in readiness for this event.

After a quick shakedown on Thursday evening, Cave was seeded fourth out of the 66 crews.

It was clear during Friday’s recce that the snowfall leading up to the rally, together with the icy conditions, were going to make things interesting - especially as the first of the event’s two stages on Saturday evening took place in darkneess.

Making the task even more challenging was the quality of the field, where the best of British - and some overseas - crews would be competing in similar four-wheel-drive machinery.

A copybook start through stage one saw Cave and Morgan begin how they were to finish, in third position.

A rear puncture on stage two, however, meant they returned to Newtown for the overnight halt in fourth.

Determined to make up the deficit, they headed off for Sunday’s four stages to find that the wintery conditions were still prevalent.

Straight away, Cave was on the pace and set another third-fastest time, which elevated them back to third spot on the BRC time sheets.

With this their first season together, Cave and Morgan partnership was quickly developing. So much so, they went on to deliver a consistent performance by setting the third-fastest time on the remaining three stages.

In doing so, they assured themselves a place on the podium. Elfyn Evans won the rally, with Fredrik Ahlin in second - both regular competitors in the WRC and also driving Fiesta R5s.